TSA follow up.

    I did a lot of flying within the 2 months of December and January and ruined a lot of film with TSA's stupid rule of only hand checking film with a speed/iso of 800. I decided to start an on going experiment of taking a picture with film before and after it has been through the TSA scanner. For this test round I used a pack of impossible silver PX600 in a SX-70 without a ND filter and the light dial set all the way to darken. I shot one image before it went through the carry-on x-ray scan at the airport, and one shot after.

I am still thinking of how to present these in a better manner and I will be continuing these tests for awhile. Each new flight will be updated on this blog.

TSA

This is not a rant on the invasion of privacy by TSA, I actually had a very easy time coming down to the States this holiday (we will see what it is like at the Philly airport on my way back up to Canada), but TSA were total jerks about hand checking my film. NO one was in line behind me and I was not in too much of a rush. They could have gone through my film by hand with no problem. My major worry was that I had a film pack in one of my Polaroid cameras which they also refused to hand check. So it went through the x-ray conveyer belt along with my carry-on while giving me their speech about as long the film is below an asa/ iso 800 the film will be fine. Not true. The last three shots of film taken after going through the x-ray have all turned up to be almost black. The film is a new Impossible silver shade pack (asa/iso 150). I have already played with this film, so I understand how sensitive the film is in general while shooting and I am not seeing the same characteristics that I was encountering before, which is just turning black. I have not finished the pack yet, so there still is hope for at least one more pic to turn out... but on my way back up, I will not have any film in the camera (hopefully, my current location has not been too inspiring) and will buy a roll of asa/iso 800 film to make them have to search through my film! I shake my fists at you TSA, shaking my fists!

This is what TSA has to say: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1035.shtm -- They should include a sensitivity for instant film.
This is handy info for all film, not just instant: http://vimeo.com/17138051

2010 is dead.

Happy 2011. On a break from classes in Toronto and mostly enjoying curling up reading and sleeping. Went back to the states for the holiday. Analogue Appreciation Day is the holiday I celebrate along with other holiday cheer. This originally started as the appreciation of film and old televisions, but has expanded to all things analogue; meaning something physical at work or the manipulation or use of something physical rather than digital. Example: pictures printed from film rather than a capture of a digital image and shown online. Though pictures are digitized here in this blog, and this blog is a form of nothing tangible, this only shows how hard it is to live life to day in the physical. Think about how you can keep your life a bit more physcial than digital into this new year. It is as simple as sending a piece of real mail using the post office, or reading a physical news paper.

This was my holiday card, sorry to present it late. Toronto is full of photobooths in the subway stops and have utilized this great tool. I have been to all within the subway system and have one more to visit in Dufferin Mall.

Happy New Year to all!