A. Aubrey Bodine's photograph titled “Ellicott City and the B & O Railroad (1952)” offers a glimpse into the historic railroad platform of Ellicott City, Maryland, featuring the area's ancient stone buildings. The image, captured by one of the twentieth century's most celebrated pictorialists, is available for ordering through the official Bodine website at www.aaubreybodine.com using image ID 48-493.
Bodine, who lived from 1906 to 1970, was widely regarded as a master of pictorial photography. His work earned him exhibitions in prestigious shows and museums worldwide, along with numerous awards against top competition. His career began in 1923 as a photographer for the Baltimore Sunday Sun, where he traveled extensively across Maryland to document a wide range of occupations and activities. These documentary images are noted for their exceptional quality, often displaying artistic design and lighting that exceeded typical newspaper standards.
Bodine consistently submitted photographs to national and international salon competitions, frequently winning top honors. He viewed photography as a creative discipline and studied art principles at the Maryland Institute College of Art. For him, the camera and darkroom equipment were tools akin to a painter's brush or a sculptor's chisel. His artistic ability was complemented by his craftsmanship, as he constantly experimented with his tools. Some of his best images were composed directly in the viewfinder, while others involved working on negatives with dyes, intensifiers, pencil markings, and even scraping to achieve his desired effect. He added clouds photographically and performed other elaborate manipulations. Bodine's rationale for these alterations was that, like a painter working from a model, he selected features that suited his sense of mood, proportion, and design. He believed that “the picture was the thing, not the manner of arriving at it,” and he did not simply take a picture but made it.
For those interested in learning more about Bodine, a full biography titled A Legend In His Time, written by his editor and closest friend Harold A. Williams, is available on the website at www.aaubreybodine.com. The site also hosts more than 6,000 photographs spanning Bodine's 47-year career, which can be ordered as reprints and note cards. This collection provides a valuable resource for understanding both the artist and the historical landscapes he captured.
