Back in the days of film photography, analysts worked at a light box like this one when performing the initial evaluation of photos taken by agents in the field. After this cursory inspection of negatives, the film was passed on to the printing technicians, who made positive images for detailed study (remember the 8x10 glossy photos of the Soviet missles in Cuba?).

Nowadays this chemical technology seems quaint. The present pixel-based system is more efficient and costs less. Gone are the days in which agents did not document important evidence because they were afaid to "go over budget" with film (phenomenon-grade film was very expensive).

This shows Agent [DELETED] reviewing images of [CLASSIFIED] in a laboratory that officially doesn't exist anywhere in Renton, Washington.