I spool gaffer tape onto several short wooden dowels or old pencils in order to save a little space in my camera bags, light cases, briefcase and photo vest pocket.
Add to the list of essentials, THE most important item...a small roll of toilet paper placed into a Zip-Lok type plastic bag (a short roll of Amtrak toilet paper takes up very little space in your camera bag). Another essential item is a supply of Zip-Lok type plastic bags in sandwich and larger storage sizes for film and equipment storage and protection, like when shooting in the rain or for carrying along a pair of dry socks. Before leaving on a photo shoot, I take my film out of the film boxes, and, laying them flat into a plastic bag, I put 18 cassettes (3 rows of 6 rolls) of 35mm film into each Zip-Lok type sandwich bag for easier storage in my camera bags while traveling. (This also works great for hand-inspection of your film at airport security, because Fuji films come in clear plastic cannisters, which can be seen through the Zip-Lok type bags.) These flat plastic bags of film stack well in a big camera case or fit into nooks and crannies and pockets of shoulder bags. The morning of a shoot, I take some film out of its plastic cans (save the cans for later) and put the rolls of loose film back into the Zip-Lok type bag for fast and easy access while furiously shooting photos. I put a Zip-Lok type bag of unexposed film into my left photo vest pocket when shooting; exposed rolls go into an empty plastic bag in my right pocket. At the end of the day, I put the exposed film back into the empty film cans, and again lay the cans flat into the Zip-Lok type plastic bag as before for easier storage and airport inspection on my way home. You could dispense with the plastic film cans altogether, but I feel safer with my exposed film in these cans during transit. When I have to FedEx the unexposed film to a photo lab or a client, the canned rolls of film go into several Zip-Lok type plastic bags that have been clearly addressed and secured with tape before being placed into the FedEx box. John B. Corns _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] -> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs -> Message © SPORRS® 1998 - All Rights Reserved
