I recently watched the movie "Bridge of Spies" directed by Steven Spielberg with actor Tom Hanks. Joined by my 2 sisters, we were excited to see the movie because our father was one of the CIA photographers on the Glienicke Bridge during the exchange. Much of this information is in his autobiography, some details include the description of the modified van he used and this little quote about the cameras:
"The ventilator on this van had been internally modified with a ninety degree reflective prism to bounce the image down through a 200 mm Leica telephoto lens into a Leica reflex housing adapted to a German Robot camera with a spring type auto film advance. In addition to the ventilator camera, a 400 mm telephoto lens and camera was mounted on a tripod inside the van, aimed towards the bridge through the cab area."
He goes on to talk about tweaking film to get faster speeds with less grain, something I understand since I started getting serious about photography some 15 years ago. The entire operation was so hush, hush that he didn't even know he was photographing the exchange between Rudolf Abel and Gary Powers. He only learned that later that evening.
My youngest sister spent many years restoring my fathers 1961 VW bug. She drives it to shows all over Virginia and wins many awards.
At a show in Fredricksburg, she had a young man approach her to ask about the car and the Berlin emblem she put on it. He mentioned that his grandfather was in Berlin in 1961. They chatted a bit and he began to walk away when he realized he had a photograph of his grandfather on his smart phone. As he showed it to her, he mentioned that he didn't know who the man was standing next to him, which turned out to be my father!
The photograph is from the spy exchange, his grandfather worked as an Army guard for the embassy in Berlin. Apparently a little time was spent taking photographs afterwards.
When we went to see the movie, prior to it starting, my youngest sister stood in front of the theater and announced that our father had been on the bridge, working for the CIA and she was joining her 2 sisters to see it. When it was over, we were surrounded by people that wanted to talk and shake our hands. It was truly remarkable!
I feel so blessed to have an autobiography of my father's life. I know other children of CIA employees who never knew what their parents did. If my father had only lived long enough to see this movie. If you get the chance, you should go, it's really a remarkable film and the bits showing what it was like to grow up in the 60's can be quite hilarious.