Traveling to the Middle East?

mjjason

mjjason

Well-known member
Anyone here have any experience traveling to the Middle East with an HVX or any other professional equipment? Have you run into any issues at customs or at checkpoints, specifically in Israel, Egypt, and Jordan?

I am travelling next week and am a bit concerned about going through several customs and checkpoints with my camera equipment.

Also, do you get much hassle at major tourist and religious sites because of professional gear? Would they let you enter without a permit? Most of the shooting will be handleheld sort of B-reel/tourist footage with only 1 or 2 people. Will we be harrased about permits?

I thank you in advance for any advice you guys can provide.
 
I've traveled to Iran on numerous occasions and I know that customs is shady over there...I would suspect the three countries you mentioned would be less of an issue, but it's definately different. Religous sites will probably be the biggest issue, but if you pass as a tourist I would suspect you'd have less trouble.
 
part one of your question: I'd find a company that handles Carets out of LA and ask that question. some of the answer probably depends on how much "professional gear" you have in addition to the camera. in the unfortunate event that any of the countries you are traveling to do have restrictions, given the huge backlog our State Department has in processing Passports, it may be a little late to be asking this question.

part two: I am sure this is site specific and will require research.
 
One *very* important thing to remember, is that in many ME nations, pretty much every public building or installation (airports, train stations, powerplants, government buildings, etc) is regarded as a sensitive place, and therefore taking pictures or video can bring you unwanted attention from the nearest policeman, soldier, or Officer for the Preservation of Public Order and Morality.

When I was in Iran, we were challenged by a soldier who objected to our taking stills outside the airport in Tehran...in the end he offered to take the photo for us, himself...for a small fee, of course.

You also want to be sensitive to the fact that many people in the region are uncomfortable with photography under any circumstances, and be sure that you aren't ticking someone off, by aiming a camera their way.

Unless your subject is security-sensitive, Israel will probably be the most relaxed environment for you to shoot in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top