When we were kids, for special occasions, Dad would sometimes bring a 35mm SLR camera home, borrowed from someone at work. The camera was treated with reverence by Dad; it was a fine instrument capable of a precise measurement of light, with real glass lenses, and even a flash. In reality it was probably just a Pentax K1000 or similar base-model Nikon, but it held a special place in a household used to 110 instamatic drugstore-quality cameras.

Dad would play with the camera at length, reading the manual, getting the settings just right, then take a portrait of us all.

He liked photography, and he had a good eye. He liked taking photos of the house on Elmwood; I remember a print of the front yard covered in snow was taped onto the basement fridge for several years, until the paper yellowed.

He would have enjoyed seeing me play with my new Christmas toy today: a GoPro Black 8. I know I’m a bit late to the GoPro revolution, but with so much time spent in-transit navigating a new city, I thought a camera like this would be a good way to show all of you what our lives are like in Düsseldorf.

Here is my first-ever GoPro video I made today. I’m still twisting all the dials and messing around; I plan to improve my technique. This is just a bit of fun. You may recognize the great jazz piece from a previous blog post movie.

Rest in peace

Edward M. Sussman

07 Oct 1942 – 25 Dec 2018