5 Frames to Overcome My Fear of Flying (With Film)

Shooting film or digital is usually a what-am-I-in-the-mood-for kind of thing and when vacationing abroad, my usual impulse is to bring along a film camera.  So a planned 2024 travel stop in Belize had me thinking of again lugging the Hasselblad 500 CM. But the new airport scanning technology widely installed since my last time overseas had me worried.

Traditional airport X-ray scanners (the ones that warn only about running through film rated at ISO 800 or above) never concerned me. I never asked for a hand inspection and never had a problem with my negatives.

But the word among photographers on the new generation of computed tomography (CT) scanners was different. These 3D scanners can fog both color and B&W film of any speed. My schedule would not allow me time to search out a camera store to buy film after the flight, so I researched how best to bring along my 120 roll film.

The good news is that the online photography commentary generally considers U.S. TSA agents very helpful in accepting film for hand inspections. Indeed, the TSA website actually recommends asking for hand inspection of undeveloped film at the airport checkpoint. But with the TSA also including a caveat that “The final decision rests with the TSA officer on whether an item is allowed through a checkpoint,” I set out with a greater-than-zero chance of a ruined photography opportunity.

With a habit of getting to airports early and with an extra helping of freely dispensed “pleases” and “thank you’s,” I found all the TSA agents for my flights readily willing to inspect my plastic-bagged, wrappers-removed film rolls. (My only error was leaving a roll of film in the camera as it went through the scanner for the trip home. No way was I going to bother the agent over that and with only one frame exposed – which by my recollection was not going to be a keeper – I did not feel bad about the sacrificing the roll.)

If your travel includes a cruise, your ship will likely use a “dual-energy” X-ray machine to scan your items as you come back from your time on land. According to Lomography, these traditional x-rays machines are unlikely to damage film rated under ISO 800. You might still try asking the staff to take a look at your camera and film rolls on your re-boarding rather than having it run through the X-ray. 

When we arrived, Belize was still soggy after some extreme rains and more rain was expected during our day trip to the Altun Ha site of Mayan ruins.

Though Belize is not a prosperous country, downtown Belize City features several new office towers, handsome schools (the boys’ and girls’ schools are on opposite sides of town), and neighborhoods near the embassies and courthouses that are considered quite luxurious among the townspeople.  With English as the country’s official language, many Belizeans are employed at the country’s international call centers.

Altun Ha, about an hour’s drive from Belize City, was discovered by archeologists in 1963 and excavations led by Canadian Dr. David Pendergast began in 1964. They continued to 1970, but experts believe only a small portion of the settlement has been recovered from the Belizean rainforest. Though the area was inhabited from approximately 900 B.C. to A.D. 1000, the earliest monumental construction dates from about 100 B.C.  Altun Ha is famous for the discovery of the spectacular Jade Head, the largest carved jade object found in the Mayan area. The visitor center displays a replica of the Jade Head and indeed, its reputation looks well-deserved.

The excavated site features two main plazas. Plaza A is believed to have been a civic and ceremonial area and Plaza B a residential section for royalty and the elite. The Carl Zeiss Distagon 4/50 was a great lens choice for the location but my roll of Kodak T-Max 100 presented a definite challenge for hand-held photography on a very dark day. Upon my first review of the scanned negatives after the trip, I wished I’d just gone digital.

But after putting away the negatives for several months of “alone time,” I recently gave the files some much-needed attention. I found the T-Max 100 negatives had some real flexibility and the time spent tweaking the files proved rewarding. The heavy weather of the day was definitely a gift, though ISO 400 film would have been a much better choice.

All in all, the experience offered me two lessons. The first is one that I frequently have to re-learn: Always give images some time before deciding on their ultimate merit. And it reassured me with a new one: If a particular destination looks amenable to shooting film, I should stop worrying and just bring the film camera — along with an ample supply of “pleases” and “thank-you’s.”

My photographic projects taken closer to home in Southern California can be found at www.gordonownby.net.

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