Yes, England has very tight security at its airports, but I have had no
problem with them hand-inspecting my film the last 5 or 6 times I was
there (one time, twice in one week!). They have sophisticated x-ray
machines that give small doses of radiation and yet provide ample
protection of passengers. Their x-ray monitors display colors, not just
b&w x-ray images that we are used to here in the States, and unlike the
idiots manning our security devices in America, such security people in
England are highly trained. Last time I was across the pond was in 1993,
so security might be different now. I have a close railfan friend who is
there now, and I will ask him about English airport security and film
inspection upon his return in two weeks.
Also, after inspecting your camera bag or other carry-on luggage, the
security people in England will put some seals onto the bags' latches.
Made of very delicate paper that tears very easily, these seals are not
to be broken if you are boarding a flight in England. So if you need
something that is in your bag (gum, aspirin) be sure that you keep it in
your pocket or you will have to go through security all over again, and
you might miss your plane.
I have traveled all around the world shooting photos, often carrying up
to 1,200 rolls of slide film with me, and the only place that I had any
"trouble" was getting into Canada from Port Huron, Michigan, and that was
by automobile and had nothing to do with the film but rather my camera
equipment. Everywhere I've been (except Paris) allowed hand inspection of
film without hesitation. But there is a trick to this success.
Before leaving home, take all of your film out of the boxes and the
plastic film cans and recycle them. Place the naked rolls of film into
zip-lock type plastic storage bags so that they can be inspected visually
simply by holding the bag up to one's eyes. Even though Fuji films come
in transluscent (but not fully transparent) cans, take the film out of
these cans. Use new plastic bags for this for two reasons: 1.) A new bag
is unscratched and is clearer for viewing through it, and 2.) the bag
will keep out dirt and humidity, two big enemies of film. Take spare
zip-lock bags with you that you can put your exposed film into so as to
keep it separated from the unexposed film.
During one last-minute trip to Russia ("John, can you be there
tomorrow?"), I sat at JFK airport in New York waiting for my departure,
and "unloaded" about 600 rolls of slide film (that I had just bought that
morning) from their boxes and film cans. I felt badly at throwing away
all of those plastic cans instead of recycling them, but I had no time to
do this unloading back at my office before this trip. I hand-carried all
of the film in a separate shoulder bag, and pulled out each plastic bag
of film for inspection at each airport I visited during the trip--no
problemo.
On a flight to Florida last week, I had to fly on a different airline
(Southwest--ugh!) and had to go down a different concourse and pass
through a different security checkpoint at my regular airport. These
folks removed EVERY roll of un-canned film to look at them, even though
all were in the above-mentioned clear plastic bags. This took a little
longer, but I always arrive at least an hour early for my flights, and
even earlier because of Southwest's crappy "first-come, first-served"
policy of "No reserved seats".
If your airport security people insist on sending your film through their
x-ray machine, JUST DO IT. Remember, you are in someone else's
country--not the good ole' US of A--and their laws may be different from
ours. You must respect their laws. If you show these people respect,
friendliness and a willingness to be open in the customs and security
process, you will have an easier time of it. Do not fight them about the
x-raying of film, because you will lose the fight. I saw an American
rail photographer livid with anger and he was yelling at the Paris
airport security people because they wanted to x-ray his precious film.
He lost the fight, was detained for his disrespect of authority, and they
x-rayed his film anyway. When developed back home, there was absolutely
no problem on any of the slides due to fogging.
Remember that x-rays have the same effect on film as on people, and that
doses of radiation are cumulative over time. Just as you would not want
the dentist to zap you with an x-ray ten times a week, you do not want to
subject your film to such numerous doses of radiation, either. The
security people say that only the high speed film is affected by x-rays,
and this is true for a single pass through the x-ray machine. But these
idiots do not know of the cumulative effects of this radiation, and that
even low-speed films can become fogged over a period of time. This is
why you want to get all of your film hand-inspected if possible--the film
you do not shoot on this trip will get x-rayed on your next flight, and
your next, etc. If it gets x-rayed, just take fresh film next time
through the airport, and leave the already x-rayed film at home for
domestic use where it will not be x-rayed again.
In South Korea I had to leave behind the film for them to process in
order to have them check it before releasing it from the country--they
were afraid that I might have photographed some "state secret" down at
the docks, and might carry home some photos of a confidential nature.
Yeah, I'm sure that we Americans need to take pictures of Korean cranes
and warehouses in order to learn how to build these complicated items!
Knowing this policy in advance, I made sure that all shooting was on
Fujichrome so that they could run it through their E-6 processor (no
Kodachrome here, boys!). The worst part was that they returned the
processed film about six weeks later...cut into strips of four frames
each, which meant that it could not be put through an automatic
slide-mounter. We were hand-mounting thousands of slides for several
weeks after that trip.
If you are really worried about airport x-rays, you could purchase your
film in England, and even get it processed there before returning home.
This might get expensive with the VAT (tax), but at least you will have
peace of mind.
Supposedly, some luggage is randomly x-rayed on international flights
departing from the States, and I know that all of it is x-rayed for
flights departing from England, so I would imagine that lead-lined film
bags and the like would be problematic for security people watching the
monitors of their x-ray machines. If they can't see it or tell what it
is, the probably won't let it go onto the airplane, although this may
have changed with the advent of the bomb-sniffing machines now being
employed around the world, except here in the States. If I were a
security person seeing such a blank form on my x-ray monitor, I would not
let that piece of luggage onto the plane without a hand search. So, you
might be delayed here as well, and maybe miss your flight.
When travelling overseas, be sure to be a good American and leave behind
a good impression of yourself and our country. When on foreign soil, you
are an unofficial representative of the USA, so please be polite (kind of
like being a railfan on railroad property and leaving behind a good
impression). Have fun! John B. Corns
--> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects
