Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 15

Thread: Airport Security Inspections

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    Greenbank, WA
    Posts
    2,605

    Airport Security Inspections

    I'm about to take a trip with my camera. Obviously the camera, lenses, meter et c. will be my one carry on. Does anyone have recent experience with requesting hand inspection of sheet film holders? I sometimes had problems with this befor e and was wondering how people are doing with this now. I guess I could stick t hem in lead in the checked luggage. Thanks.

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    State College, Pennsylvania, USA
    Posts
    44

    Airport Security Inspections

    I've just returned to Detroit after shooting an architectural photography job in New York, and was very glad that I had decided in advance not to try to carry film with me any longer. I suspected that it would be a problem, and while standing in the interminable lines for the hand baggage check in Detroit, I queried a Northwest Airlines employee about the information that new, more powerful X-ray machines were being installed for checked baggage. He confirmed that this is being contemplated, and that even now random checked baggage was being very carefully X-rayed on domestic flights. At the actual security point, the technician I spoke with asserted that "EVERYTHING" had to go through X-ray. So after arriving in New York, I went down to Adorama, stocked up on film, and did my work. Ordinarily the last thing I do on one of these jobs is to carefully pack away all the film, both exposed and unexposed, in a small box in the center of my checked baggage, but this time I just packed it all up in a Fedex box so that it would follow me home. I wonder how long it will be before some malefactor does something awful enough that Fedex starts X-raying all of its parcels?

  3. #3

    Airport Security Inspections

    Thank you Christopher for sharing your experiences with the forum. In my opinion, your post is probably the most important piece of information for all traveling photographers to understand. The era of carrying film with us in any form on airplanes is clearly over. My concern is getting film shipped to meet us on time at less than populated areas of the country where we need or want to shoot. Once again, I feel that Fed Ex and their tracking system will come to the rescue to and from location, wherever they may be. We just need to plan accordingly.

    Welcome to the bold New World.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    Greenbank, WA
    Posts
    2,605

    Airport Security Inspections

    Is the problem with checked bags that they all get really powerful x- rays? Putting the exposed film in the lead bag won't do it?

  5. #5

    Airport Security Inspections

    I would not feel completely safe unless the package was shipped by ground transportation. FedEx is less likely to x-ray shipments from an established account, but a hand written air bill is less certain.

    UPS has a pretty good tracking system, but they are not quite as reliable as FedEx in terms of shipment times. You can ship to any hotel by indicating your name, c/o the destination hotel. Just be sure to indicate on the shipping label right under your name that the package is for a guest and is to be held for arrival on a specific check-in date.

  6. #6

    Airport Security Inspections

    Kevin, the problem with checked baggage is that the security operator will supposedly turn up the x-ray intensity until it can see through the lead shield.

  7. #7

    Airport Security Inspections

    I flew on 4 US domestic flights the week following the attacks in NYC and the Pentagon. Only had time for one day of photography on the trip so I had only 6 film holders with my Wooden field (Tachihara) a lens and some 35mm gear. All squeezed into a carryon bag. I let the film be xrayed (not the high powered checked bag machine) the first time, but there was understandable interest in the contents of the bag so I needed to have a hand search anyway. After that I just told the security folk that they would want to do a hand search after they see the xray anyway, so they agreed to skip straight to a handsearch without xray.

    I arrived with plenty of time and was cheerful about explaining what everything was of course. People behind me were patient (and curious). So that's one experience.

    Don't use lead bags for checked luggage. If they are doing their job, they'll up the xray level to see inside the bags (wouldn't you want them to do that if their job is to identify forbidden items?).

    "Your mileage may vary"....

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    Greenbank, WA
    Posts
    2,605

    Airport Security Inspections

    Having thought it over, I'll try putting the film holders in the lead bag in the carry on. If they want a hand search, they can hand search after it goes through the machine. I'll let you know what happens. If worse comes to worse (I'm going to a major city) I'll go buy some film. Thanks for your comments.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    State College, Pennsylvania, USA
    Posts
    44

    Airport Security Inspections

    According to Kodak, the problem isn't that an operator can dial up the intensity of the X-fay, it is that new machines such as the InVision CTX-5000SP are coming on line which use beam intensities 100-300x stronger than the 1 mR X-ray machines of the past. This is apparently sufficient to completely burn out film, and damage even those packaged in the lead-lined bags! One can certainly hope to encounter security people who are understanding and considerate, but I for one am not counting on it in the future. It's annoying to have to FedEx film to and from location shoots, but not nearly as dire a prospect as explaining to a client that all the film was lost due to X-ray damage. For a brief blurb, see the Kodak site: http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/motion/support/technical/xr ay4.shtml

  10. #10

    Airport Security Inspections

    Are you guys shooting 1600ASA stock or something? I've been travelling around the world for years with 100ASA film, often to the kind of backwoods countries with the really old fashioned X-Ray machines that we're all taught to fear and I've never yet had any detectable evidence of fogging. I've just got back from Beirut airport where security is currently hypersensitive and everything went through three machines with no problem. Is there anyone who can put their hand on their heart and say that they've genuinely had problems with X-Ray fogging of normal speed films? I never bother asking for hand inspection because frankly I've never felt the need. Given the current state of hysteria I'd say it's just asking of unnecessary grief. To reiterate previous posts, lead lined bags are a con - the op just turns up the power until they can see in. Otherwise every terrorist organisation in the world would be using them.

Similar Threads

  1. Hassled by nosey private security guard.
    By Leonard Evens in forum Business
    Replies: 27
    Last Post: 28-Jun-2012, 05:25
  2. Homeland security blues
    By Robert Brown in forum Business
    Replies: 81
    Last Post: 16-Jan-2011, 17:34
  3. More Airport - new TSA regs?
    By Donal Taylor in forum Location & Travel
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 26-Apr-2005, 18:43
  4. nightmares at the airport
    By chris jordan in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 40
    Last Post: 3-May-2004, 20:25
  5. Airport security and film
    By Linda in forum Location & Travel
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 21-Feb-2004, 22:53

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •