transporting/storing film on vacation

gpam13 · Feb 8, 2004

This summer, I will be travelling to Alaska for two weeks, and then to Utah and Arizona for two weeks. That's a lot of film!!!
Can anyone offer suggestions for transporting film there (is it OK for film to go through the carry-on X-ray machine?) and storing it (both before and after exposure, in the heat of Utah and Arizona)?
Are there any general suggestions about travelling with film?
Thank you very much!!!
--Pam

tr0gd0o0r · Feb 8, 2004

I'd suggest getting a big box of film and just carrying it around. I don't know about the cold of alaska, but I've gone to New Mexico the past 3 summers (where there is no air conditioner) and have had no problem with film and I was just carrying it in my film bag.

ksmattfish · Feb 8, 2004

The warmer your film, the faster it "ages". The cooler you keep it, the longer it lasts. Just keep it out of the sun, hot cars, etc...

I have all of my film hand checked. The folks at the x-ray machine will insist that it won't be hurt. Almost every photog mag has articles explaining why this is bull sh*t.

Go to the National Transportation Safety website, there you can print out a page with the rules about air travel as they apply to photographers. It states very specifically that you have the right to request that your film be hand checked. Vacation pics are too valuable to risk x-ray damage.

I try to be as polite as I can, and if they keep bugging me about it I tell them "You can hand check it, or I'd be glad to discuss it with your supervisor." I remove the film from the canisters and carry it in a zip-lock freezer bag so that they can see and access it easily. If I have a lot of film, I mail it overnight (don't use longer shipping as you never know if it will sit in a hot truck or warehouse for days).

X-ray damage is cumulative, meaning if it get x-rayed once or twice it may not be so bad, but as it gets zapped again and again it can really be messed up. I know folks who've never had problems with x-ray damage, and then all of a sudden on one trip all their film will be trashed. It's not worth it. Hand check it.