General Security

The best advice here is keep your camera with you - you can't take pictures if you don't! There are countries where it might be the target of an opportunist even if it is round your neck (get advice from your travel agent and a good guide book), but generally speaking, if you have it, someone else won't get it.

Top among the don'ts is:- Don't leave any camera gear in the car. Naturist beaches and their parking spaces are often more remote and could be the target for break-in even more than your average car park. There's also the point that the interior of a car gets very hot in the sun. Some electronic components in modern photographic gear are only rated to 70º C, and this temperature can be exceeded in a car, even in UK - camcorder repairers do a lot of business as a result of this every summer.

Air Travel

Take your camera gear on as hand baggage unless you have a big aluminium case for your pre-booked and specially-insured pro set up, in which case you will not need this advice, or unless you really don't care about seeing it again - thefts from hold luggage are not at all uncommon. There is a letter in the May 1999 Bureau of Freelance Photographers Newsletter about a photographer who was not allowed to take his gear on as hand luggage because it exceeded weight limits. It was pointed out to the desk attendant that the airlines are interested only in total weight, and in any case, the combined weight of said photographer and his bag was considerably less than the average American tourist on that flight! Note that, increasingly, airlines (especially charter and budget airlines) are insisting that your regulation single item of hand luggage weighs no more than 5kg. Don't despair. That limit applies only to bags to go in the overhead lockers. Anything else has to be stowed under the seat in front of you. That means hang your cameras around your neck or stow them in a bumbag at check-in. It can be a real drag, but safety is involved and we don't recommend trying to get round these regulations. One of the authors, realising while in the check-in queue that 5kg meant 5kg, and that they actually weighed the cabin luggage, rapidly removed all camera gear from his carry-on bag and presented himself looking like some cartoon paparazzi. No problem! Choose your going-away camera bags on the basis of suitability for stuffing under aircraft seats.

There are endless debates about X-ray machines and whether the radiation will fog the film. All hand-luggage X-ray machines claim to be safe for films, and in the general sense they probably are (but some airports don't maintain their equipment as carefully as they should, and there's no comeback if the machine does affect your film). Also, these days very few security staff will allow photographic gear to bypass the scanner. You can try asking for "hand inspection", but don't be surprised if this is refused. It is suggested (second- or third-hand hearsay) that protecting films in lead-lined bags does no good either because the dose will be turned up to see what is in there! Bodies representing photographic manufacturers are testing these machines regularly and it is claimed that some systems have been found to cause fogging, despite the claims that they are safe. Fast film (800 or above) is much more likely to be affected than slow film (100 or below).

Never, ever pack film in your suitcases for transport in the hold ("checked" luggage - those items you don't see again until you get to the other end, if at all). X-ray machines for inspecting checked luggage deliver high or very high doses of X-rays which will damage your film.

For single outward and homeward journeys, the authors have had no bad experiences with damage to transparency or print film. For world travel involving multiple passes through airports, the story may be different. If you are paranoid about this possibility, buy your films when you get there and have them developed before returning - or use this as a good excuse to go digital.

Preparation and Pre-planning

If you have new cameras, do take the receipts with you to avoid possible customs delays. Strictly speaking, they won't be happy with photocopies, but one or two sheets of A4 onto which you've copied all the relevant receipts is much easier to deal with than a collection of variously sized bits of flimsy paper. While you're at the photocopier, it might be an idea to photocopy a few pages from the instruction manual - can you really remember how to use some of the less-commonly used features (e.g. setting date/time after changing the battery)?

For all your gear, make sure you have a note somewhere of the precise details of manufacturer, model and serial number - this can save a lot of time in the event of theft. (Don't keep this note in the camera bag!)

The perfectionist will buy enough films to last the full trip, and make sure that they are all from the same batch. This ensures maximum uniformity in colour balance and the like. Less concerned types know that 35mm film can be bought almost anywhere these days - although there's no guarantee that you can get the specific speed and brand of film you prefer, nor that it won't have spent the last six months baking happily on the shelf of the kiosk where you found it. Always check that the "use by" date is some way ahead.