Not to beat a dead horse or start an argument; but with respect to buying
film on location, I would certainly take into account the purposes of the
photography.
If it is just snap shots, then there may not be any reason not to buy film
on location as long as you get it from a respected and known photo supplier
who sells enough film to have a regular and rapid turnover in inventories.
I would stay away from places that do not have air conditioning or do not
refrigerate the film if the location is a hot humid location like the South
Florida, tropics, Central America the West Indies, etc.; I would stay away
from sellers who only stock a small supply of a few limited types of films
and/or appear to have a slow turnover in inventories which may indicate that
the film may be short dated or out-of-date, may have been obtained from
irregular and not-traditional distribution chains and sources where it was
kept under hot humid conditions or have undergone cross oceanic shipment in
unsealed containers allowing for salt air and water pollution or some other
type of contamination. On another level, one may not be able to obtain the
brand and type of film which one is familiar with working with at one's
destination that is the same as one can get at home; thus, one may be forced
to use a type or brand of film that one is unfamiliar with. Not all films
are created equal or have the exact same properties.
If the shoot is a professional commercial shoot or one in which the images
have some serious value like one of a kind pictures of famous people that
you may never see again or pictures of soon to be dead family, then I would
say bring the film with you with the additional caution that you obtain it
at home from a reputable supplier who keeps the inventory under reasonably
acceptable conditions that are know by you to be so and who has a rapid
enough turnover in inventory to assure that the film is fresh film.
As for processing the film at your destination, two things can be said
against this. First I am not sure how convenient one would find traveling
with boxes of slides, transparencies, or prints as contrasted to a brick of
film canisters. I would think that it would be easier to travel with
undeveloped film in rolls than trying to pack processed film and prints if
it is negative film in a safe, easy and economical way.
Secondly, as a traveler in a strange place, you would be trusting your film
to processors whose reputations are unknown to you based on recommendations
of people who you do not know; you would be trusting your film to processors
who you may never see again and who know that they may never have to deal
with you again. In addition, just as in your own country processing can
vary from day to day and processor to processor; but in your own country you
can have the film processed by those whom you know and trust and have used
before, where you have some idea what their quality of processing is and can
be expected and to whom you can return to and complain or threaten with loss
of your business if they screw up.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
[mailto:owner-filmscanners@halftone.co.uk]On Behalf Of Anthony Atkielski
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2001 5:40 PM
To: filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
Subject: Re: filmscanners: OT:X-ray fogging
Buy film at your destination, and have it developed there before you return.
Unless you are venturing into the Third World (and even if you are,
sometimes),
this will give you photographs just as clean as taking your own film with
you in
both directions, and the danger of fogging (or other unpleasantness) is
eliminated.
I've never understood why photographers lug hundreds of rolls of film around
the
world when film and development are available practically everywhere on the
planet. What's so special about film and development at home?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lynn Allen" <ktrout@hotmail.com>
To: <filmscanners@halftone.co.uk>
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2001 22:59
Subject: filmscanners: OT:X-ray fogging
> Some weeks ago there was a thread about fogged negs from airport X-rays.
> This is to put everyone on notice that if you travel in the US, fogging is
a
> strong possibility, because it just happened to me on a trip from
Cleveland
> to Seattle--neither of which are particularly effective smuggling ports.
>
> I am not from Jamaica, I am not Black (well, not very much, anyway--not
> noticeably), and my family has been out of the smuggling business for at
> least 300 years. Yet my film got "nuked," either at Cleveland Hopkins or
at
> SeaTac (I'd weigh it as 70% likely SeaTac, on the conservative
side--there's
> little need to take Ohio pot to Seattle!)
>
> This definitely pisses me off, and I wrote and sent corroberating pic to
the
> (US) FCC in charge--for whatever good that will do. I'm hoping that the
> people who control air traffic in the US can at least read! But judging
from
> the people I've seen at the check-in gates, I wouldn't count on it. :-(
>
> Anyone wishing to dialogue with me on this subject, please contact me
> off-list, because I frankly don't have time to survey the List at this
point
> in time. I'm just coming on--then dropping off again--to warn you all to
use
> the lead bags when you travel (as if that would help), or buy film at
point
> of destination and mail it back home. What a complete PITA.
>
> Best regards--LRA
>
> PS--I really miss you guys, but it can't be helped. :-)
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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