St. Jude Prep, Flying with Kodak Portra 400
Posted by Pat Hathaway | August 11, 2026
I’m sitting on a wooden terrace in Santa Ana, right in the heart of Costa Rica’s San José province, drinking my absolute last cup of locally roasted Tarrazú coffee before heading to the airport. The mountain air is comfortably heavy this Tuesday morning, but it’s nothing compared to the suffocating silence currently radiating from Big Boy Dan’s text messages.
The Brennan Upset and Dan’s Geography Lesson
If you were following the Wyndham Championship drama over the weekend, you know Dan’s entire “veteran ball-striker” strategy completely unraveled. Michael Brennan, a 24-year-old kid who was sitting at No. 105 in the FedExCup standings, decided to go on an absolute tear. Brennan dropped five straight birdies on Sunday, shot a 6-under 64, and finished at 22-under par to steal the tournament right out from under Beau Hossler.
Dan panicked. When his North Carolina tickets started going up in flames on Sunday afternoon, he frantically texted me, asking if he could drive south to hedge his bets. I had to send him a link outlining
South Carolina’s current betting status just to remind him that crossing the border wouldn’t save him, since the state still hasn’t legalized sports wagering. The desperation was palpable.
Now, Dan has moved on to the FedExCup Playoffs. The FedEx St. Jude Championship tees off Thursday at TPC Southwind down in Memphis. You can read the official playoff projections and stroke-gained analytics over at the
PGA Tour’s official portal, but I’ve already told Dan I won’t be listening to any more of his legal-pad math. The Memphis humidity is brutal, and TPC Southwind’s water hazards are going to swallow whatever is left of his bankroll.
Protecting Portra 400 from the CT Scanners
My primary concern right now isn’t golf; it’s getting my exposed medium format film back to the Central Coast without ruining it. I shot over a dozen rolls of Kodak Portra 400 through the vintage Rolleiflex 2.8F down here in the tropics, and navigating modern airport security with analog film is a stressful nightmare.
The new 3D CT scanners used by the TSA and international airports will absolutely fry unprocessed film in a single pass, completely fogging the emulsion and destroying the color shifts. If you travel with analog gear, you must demand a manual hand-check. You can read the official technical warnings about radiation damage directly from the engineers over at
Kodak’s film transportation guide. I’ve got my 120 rolls packed in a clear ziplock bag, and I’m ready to politely argue with the security agents at Juan Santamaría Airport in broken Spanish if I have to.
The Santa Ana Valley in 6×6
Before packing up the heavy Wetzlar glass, I spent Monday evening shooting the hills surrounding the Santa Ana valley. The way the late afternoon tropical sun cuts through the low-hanging mountain clouds is something you just can’t capture correctly with a digital sensor. The light is too dynamic; you need the massive exposure latitude of color negative film to hold the highlights in the sky while retaining the deep, green shadows of the coffee plantations.
I processed the last batch in the bathroom sink of my rental last night and scanned them with my travel rig. I’ve uploaded the final 6×6 high-resolution squares to the
California Views Gallery Hub. Take a look at the color depth and the organic grain. It almost makes the inevitable airport security headache worth it.
I’m heading back to California today. Keep your mechanical shutters firing, and don’t let anyone put your negatives through an X-ray machine.
Comments
BigBoyDan: Brennan just caught fire, Pat. It’s an anomaly. Memphis is a pure ball-striker’s paradise. I’m telling you, the veterans are taking back control this week.
JudgeRoy: Stand your ground at the security checkpoint, Patrick. The TSA has ruined more masterpieces than bad lighting ever has. The Santa Ana scans are a fine end to your trip.
Video Recommendation
If you are planning to travel with photographic film anytime soon, you absolutely need to know how the new airport CT scanners will destroy your negatives. Watch this breakdown before you pack your camera bag.
How Airport Scanners Ruin Film (YouTube)
