A. Aubrey Bodine's Photographic Legacy Preserved Online with Over 6,000 Images

The photographic legacy of A. Aubrey Bodine (1906-1970), regarded as one of the finest pictorialists of the twentieth century, has been preserved and made accessible through a comprehensive online archive. Bodine's work, which won numerous awards in national and international salon competitions, represents a significant contribution to both documentary photography and artistic expression.

Bodine's career began in 1923 when he started covering stories for the Baltimore Sunday Sun. His documentary photographs of Maryland occupations and activities were noted for their exceptional quality, often featuring artistic design and lighting effects that far exceeded typical newspaper photography standards. He approached photography as a creative discipline, studying art principles at the Maryland Institute College of Art and treating his camera and darkroom equipment as tools similar to a painter's brush or sculptor's chisel.

The importance of this archival preservation lies in the accessibility it provides to Bodine's innovative techniques and artistic vision. He was known for his experimental approach, composing some images directly in the camera viewfinder while manipulating others through dyes, intensifiers, pencil markings, and even scraping negatives to achieve desired effects. His photographic additions of clouds and other elaborate manipulations demonstrated his belief that "the picture was the thing, not the manner of arriving at it."

More than 6,000 photographs spanning Bodine's 47-year career are available for viewing on the website at https://www.aaubreybodine.com. This extensive collection includes his notable work such as "Mountain Club of Maryland (1946)" which depicts climbers exploring rock formations after ascending Big Schloss. The images can be ordered as reprints and note cards through the same website.

For those seeking deeper understanding of Bodine's life and work, the full biography "A Legend In His Time" by Harold A. Williams, Bodine's editor and closest friend, is available on the website at https://www.aaubreybodine.com. This preservation effort ensures that Bodine's artistic legacy, which was exhibited in hundreds of prestigious shows and scores of museums during his lifetime, remains accessible to future generations of photography enthusiasts and scholars.