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Travel Journal Photos |
Censored at Walmart one hour photo
When I got back from Europe, I UPS'd 25 rolls of travel film to a Lansing pro lab for dip-and-dunk processing. They sent me back 25 meters of uncut negatives. Today, after a few days of scanning, I brought my edited pictures to the local Wal-Mart Photo Lab on four Zip disks. Ever since my infamous run in with another large retailer two years ago, I've been apprehensive about letting strangers handle my original negatives. I watched as the photo manager loaded my first disk and brought the pictures up on the screen. She stared at the contact sheet then pointed at the screen, "What's this?" Within the frame, I am fully clothed parallel to a life-size papier-mâché woman. Her unmentionables are well spoken for. "It's a prop from a movie. In Prague." "We can't print it." "Why not?" "It's not nice." "Is that store policy? Can I see a written copy of it?" She asks her coworker if they have the policy on paper. Undaunted, she pages a store manager. Her coworker quietly explains that she specifically requested the female one. He discretely invites me to come back later. The manager comes over, puts her glasses on, looks at the screen then whispers to the parsimonious printmaker. I didn't hear the verdict, so I ask the manager, "Was that a yes?" She affirms, "Looks like you had fun!" As I pace for my 4x6's, I am informed that the machine has jammed: prints tomorrow at no charge. P.S. As a constellation prize for my trip, a company I met in Sweden invited me to interview at their office in Manchester, England. They are looking to add five people to their staff this spring. Though when I followed up on the phone, they suggested I shouldn't fly over just to see them. |
