Film on trip to Ireland

megzdad81 · Sep 1, 2017

Are there customs limits for film taken on vacation to Ireland and Scotland? About 30 day trip with 120 rolls of 120mm planned with my 12 exposure Hassie backs.

Sirius Glass · Sep 1, 2017

I doubt. Do not forget the camera and lenses.

Svenedin · Sep 1, 2017

I'm not aware of any customs limits. How are you going to take so much film and avoid putting it in the hold? That is a lot of film in hand-luggage!

foc · Sep 2, 2017

I don't know of any custom limits, (none from inter EU). I would suggest that you bring your supply of 120 film with you as you may find it hard to get 120 film supplies outside the main Irish cities (Dublin, Cork, Galway). I don't know about Scotland but I would imagine the same applies.
If you let me know where in Ireland you intend traveling then I can suggest where to buy film incase you run out.
I am sure there are more people on here that could also help with suggestions.

megzdad81 · Sep 4, 2017

I manage to get it either in my backpack (built to hold a laptop) or man-purse with the same laptop space. Starting in Edinburgh to Glasgow by way of Isle of Lewis and Isle of Skye. Then from Dublin across to Galway and slow drift down west coast.

I read in a thread about developing while on the trip. Does everyone do that? That I hadn't planned on. How does everyone do that? Developing tank, thermometer, chemical storage, fixer, negative storage?

Svenedin · Sep 4, 2017

Some people do develop on trips but only really long trips or when there is a necessity to develop quickly. I would not have thought it was worth the hassle. Just enjoy the trip and develop when you get home.

Lachlan Young · Sep 4, 2017

megzdad81 said:
I manage to get it either in my backpack (built to hold a laptop) or man-purse with the same laptop space. Starting in Edinburgh to Glasgow by way of Isle of Lewis and Isle of Skye. Then from Dublin across to Galway and slow drift down west coast.

I read in a thread about developing while on the trip. Does everyone do that? That I hadn't planned on. How does everyone do that? Developing tank, thermometer, chemical storage, fixer, negative storage?

What time of year are you looking to visit & which films are you likely to need/ want?

The Ilford range in 120 is available off the shelf in both Edinburgh & Glasgow, though you might pay more than from Silverprint/ AG/ Process Supplies etc. Kodak is more limited - Portra yes, the BW in 120 tends not to be stocked over here in the west of Scotland. There is a branch of Calumet (rebranding soon I recall) in both cities, & if the item you want is in stock within their system it can be got to the store in 48hrs free of charge. Fuji Acros is going to be either Calumet or mail order.

I'd recommend against processing on the road unless utterly necessary - it's an invitation to screw up your negs majorly. I've only seen x-rays etc be an issue when film went in checked baggage. Either take the film home & process it/ have it processed there, or send it to a good lab here (PM me regarding processing options in Glasgow if that's likely to be useful to you?). There are public access darkrooms in both Edinburgh & Glasgow, but if you're trying to cover that much ground in 30 days, spending time processing while you're here is going to equal time lost for photography.

Sirius Glass · Sep 4, 2017

I wait to get home before developing film.

megzdad81 · Sep 4, 2017

I'm convinced not to. Leaving this Thursday--looks like it makes a habit of raining there. The wife would probably tell me in a string of 4-letterers how over the top I was. Besides, I ws planning on spending the evenings pub-crawling and listening to music. About 2/3s of what I've got is B&W Delta 100 & 400. The color is a mix or Portra and Fuji slide. Thanks for the input--can't describe how excited I am to be going. Working 60 hrs/wk has gotten to be real drag. The driving on the other side of the road has me a little sketchy ...

Ron789 · Sep 4, 2017

Pub-crawling, music, the places you plan to visit.... perfect way to enjoy Scotland and Ireland! Your biggest problem will be: the more film and equipment you take with you, the less space you'll have to bring whisky on your way back home. I recommend you shoot your holiday pictures on your smartphone. The space and weight you save will enable you to take at least 5 bottles of whisky back home. Life is all about priorities.
When going to Lewis I recommend to visit the abhainndearg whisky distillery: http://www.abhainndearg.co.uk/index.php/distillery.
It a very young and small distillery in a very remote place. When I visited it a couple of years ago they existed for only 3 years, they just brought their first whisky to the market and the entire place was run by 2 people.
Enjoy your trip!
Regarding driving on the other side of the road: foreigners are not obliged to do so.

Sirius Glass · Sep 5, 2017

Driving on the wrong side of the road is easy to adjust to. I was dreaming of driving on the wrong side in a day or two. Coming back though, pay attention to the other vehicles because it is easy to drift to the wrong side.

foc · Sep 5, 2017

Just a quick note regarding driving in UK and Republic of Ireland. In the UK all speed signs and distances are miles. In the Republic of Ireland all speed signs and distances are in kilometers and duel language (Irish Gaelic and English) It can be a bit confusing sometimes.

Have a good trip.

faberryman · Sep 5, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
Driving on the wrong side of the road is easy to adjust to. I was dreaming of driving on the wrong side in a day or two. Coming back though, pay attention to the other vehicles because it is easy to drift to the wrong side.

I haven't been in Ireland in a number of years, but as I remember it many of the roads outside the cities are quite narrow and so you just drive down the middle anyway!

MattKing · Sep 5, 2017

foc said:
duel language (Irish Gaelic and English)

Nice choice of words

foc · Sep 6, 2017

MattKing said:
Nice choice of words

Glad to see someone is paying attention !!!!

thefizz · Sep 14, 2017

Plenty of film at www.thephotoshop.ie if you need any while in Ireland.

redrockcoulee · Oct 11, 2017

A couple of years ago my wife and I spent 5 weeks in Scotland taking about 120 rolls, mostly 120 and no problems. Doing it again next fall.

dodphotography · Oct 22, 2017

Bring a tripod... I had TRIX 400 and with the dim light I had 1/60th exposures that were a PITA to handhold

Film on trip to Ireland

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