Affordable Travel

Many photographers ask the burning and essential question: should I worry about my film being ruined when I put it through the x ray machines at the airport. And usually the airport authorities give the same answer: probably not, but it just depends. So if you are a shutterbug and want to preserve your film, do some preparation ahead of travel, and stay on the safe side of the ambiguity surrounding the problem. It is true that some films can be exposed and wrecked in the machines. Other machines, especially those made within the past decade, are sophisticated enough to detect what’s in your bags without obliterating your film. Some travel and photo shops sell their idea of a remedy, a lead-lined bag or pouch. You pop your film inside and then it is protected. But if the authorities want to, they will open the bag anyway and run the film through by itself. Of course if you go digital, you don’t have to worry about film at all, because there is none. But many photographers prefer real film, and for them, it is best to call airports ahead of time and find out exactly what kind of machinery they use, and then check with the company that makes your film. If you are into taking slight risks, though, like most non-professional photographers, don’t worry. We rarely hear of people having their film messed up by x ray machines anymore. Well, then again, it all depends. Someday somebody will solve this dilemma, once and for all. Meantime, it’s unlikely anything will go wrong, but not a foolproof situation.

Photography in Mexico and Guatemala’s indigenous regions is some of the best in the whole world. The native Mayan costumes are worn by residents on a daily basis; and the people are for the most part very warm, friendly, and photogenic. Tourists are especially fond of taking photographs of children, churches, and ceremonies, because of the obvious attraction of the subjects. But in recent years especially, some photographers have made the mistake of taking photos without first asking if it is okay, and for some this has resulted in violent confrontation and even death.

There are some rural dwellers in these regions who are highly suspicious of outsiders, and they have good reasons to be. In San Cristobal, for example, in the Chiapas mountains of Mexico, many residents were slaughtered during a confrontation with government officials who were representing large business corporations who forcefully entered the Chiapas area in order to establish factories on the indigenous people’s land. And in Guatemala, 30 years of genocidal war that began in the 1950s has left people highly suspicious of outsiders, because outsiders used to come and kidnap their children.

When taking photos, always ask first, and make sure that the people you ask understand the language you are speaking (many don’t speak Spanish or English but other dialects). Once you have permission, you can capture some wonderful portraits, but beforehand, be respectful for your own sake and the sake of those you wish to photograph.

Here are a few tips to help you take better photos while you on your next trip, so that when you return you can be forever reminded of the people, places, and fun things you encountered along the way.

If you are more than just a novice at taking photos, consider taking two cameras, a digital and a manual style camera that will give you the flexibility to adjust your F stops and zooms, etc. for various conditions of light and composition. If you have only room for a single camera, we would suggest a point and shoot camera because it is easy to pack a small one that can give you professional quality pictures and reliability in various circumstances.

For others, we highly recommend a good digital camera, and a protective case to keep it clean and free of moisture, dust, and damage from impact. With a digital camera you can carry hundreds, even thousands of great photos and never worry about buying film, which can be a big problem for a traveling photo bug. Plus, you can email your photos back to yourself for safe keeping, to your friends and family to share your trip in a way that is immediate and clear and enables them to see exactly what you’re seeing, and you can also post them on your own travel journal web site or blog, to share with anyone you want to.

Photography and ancient temples seem to go hand in hand, because a photographer with a good eye can capture so much essential artistry while shooting pictures of one of India’s old sacred temples. Close-ups reveal the fine attention to hand carved detail, long shots explore the awe inspiring size of the temples that must have required so much labor to build, and interior shots allow one a glimpse of a mysterious, almost secretive world that is the refuge of sages, mystics, and devotees.

But some of the old school practitioners of these religions - the fundamentalists if you will - consider it an intrusion for a non-devotee to enter a sacred space. Even in those temples where you may be invited with open minds and arms, there are very old superstitions at play that involve photos. After all, photography is a rather recent invention, especially for people who live in a place that resembles medieval times in terms of culture and consumer goods. Many devotees believe that if you photograph the gods in their temples, you steal the spirit of the god. Beware. Many innocent photographers who were simply sightseeing have been physically attacked in order to “save a god from being stolen” by a tourist. And countless tourists have at least been the subject of embarrassment and verbal abuse because they failed to follow the local code of never entering a temple with a camera around the neck.

Many of us travel with a camera, and take pictures of every place we go. But in recent years especially, it pays to exercise a little discretion when shooting photos inside airports. If you do this in the USA, especially if you take pictures that include a view of security operations, you might be accused of trying to snoop on the government in an attempt to learn the security procedures for a nefarious purpose, like terrorism. It may sound outlandish, but it happens.

Worse still is the situation in some other airports, in smaller countries, where the government combines the civilian airport facility and the military airport facility. This often is the case in smaller or less economically powerful nations. To save money they have one airport for both their military and their commercial planes. But in some countries, if you take photos of anything inside the airport can be in violation of the law, because they have laws against taking photos “inside a military facility”. If you are charged under such laws, you will be charged with espionage.

So when in doubt about the rules and regulations of an airport you’re passing through, the best advice is to abstain from taking photographs. But post cards instead, because as far as we know, nobody has been dragged in front of a firing squad for buying a post card.