cyrus
17-Jul-2006, 19:24
OK so on the way back from Italy, I was carrying way too much gaudy tacky junk made out of glass from Venice as gifts for my equally tacky friends, coworkers and relatives, so I decided to bite the bullet and hand my camera bag over as checked luggage with nothing more than the hope that I would see it again. I carry all the camera stuff except for film in a Pelican roller which qualifies by size as carry-on luggage. However I have to admit that it is a sort of scary looking piece of luggage that has a certain militaristic look to it. I'm sure that wasn't helped by my spray-painting my name on it using military-style cut-out letters, and the rather heavy lock I placed on it. In fact once back in NYC, a cabbie took one look at it and joked "Hey is there a gun in there?"
So I wasn't so surprised when the ticket agent oh-so gently told me to take that particular piece of luggage to a "special room" where it would be "specially checked in" - trying to sound as if this "special" procedure was a special treat for my benefit when in fact I knew full well what was coming and was resigned to it and didn't really need the prevarication. Anyway, in the "special room" there was of course a monster x-ray machine of some sort, and I was instructed to place my suspicious-looking Pelican into it before it could be checked in. Then the agent proceeded to x-ray it, and I was able to see the screen of his machine over his shoulder, which predictably showed the innards of my cameras and lightmeters etc. The agent then took a look at me and my admittedly dashing & swarthy Mideastern features, and so he decided to zap the luggage a few more times. But still no sign of a bomb was found, so he placed the luggage on a rack to be loaded into the airplane. I was relieved that I hadn't been asked to unpack though ironically, I realized my other luggage was not given this treatment but could have carried God-knows what.
Now, I was calm through this process because I had placed all my film in my hand bag and I knew that there was no film in the Pelican. But when I got home and started unpacking, I realized that I had left a roll of 120 film (400 speed) in an old 6x9 Nettar folder that I had taken to Italy just for fun. I had taken several shots of theTrevi fountain with it. I assumed that the "special" treatment given to my Pelican bag had ruined the film but I decided to develop it anyway. Lo and behold! the negs came out fine. They were ruined of course - not by the x rays but by me as usual (forgot to %*#@$ FOCUS!)
So I suppose the lesson is that film can survive enough airport X-ray zaps to neuter a few horses, and still come out fine.
So I wasn't so surprised when the ticket agent oh-so gently told me to take that particular piece of luggage to a "special room" where it would be "specially checked in" - trying to sound as if this "special" procedure was a special treat for my benefit when in fact I knew full well what was coming and was resigned to it and didn't really need the prevarication. Anyway, in the "special room" there was of course a monster x-ray machine of some sort, and I was instructed to place my suspicious-looking Pelican into it before it could be checked in. Then the agent proceeded to x-ray it, and I was able to see the screen of his machine over his shoulder, which predictably showed the innards of my cameras and lightmeters etc. The agent then took a look at me and my admittedly dashing & swarthy Mideastern features, and so he decided to zap the luggage a few more times. But still no sign of a bomb was found, so he placed the luggage on a rack to be loaded into the airplane. I was relieved that I hadn't been asked to unpack though ironically, I realized my other luggage was not given this treatment but could have carried God-knows what.
Now, I was calm through this process because I had placed all my film in my hand bag and I knew that there was no film in the Pelican. But when I got home and started unpacking, I realized that I had left a roll of 120 film (400 speed) in an old 6x9 Nettar folder that I had taken to Italy just for fun. I had taken several shots of theTrevi fountain with it. I assumed that the "special" treatment given to my Pelican bag had ruined the film but I decided to develop it anyway. Lo and behold! the negs came out fine. They were ruined of course - not by the x rays but by me as usual (forgot to %*#@$ FOCUS!)
So I suppose the lesson is that film can survive enough airport X-ray zaps to neuter a few horses, and still come out fine.