A photograph titled 'Mountain Club of Maryland (1946)' by A. Aubrey Bodine offers a window into mid-20th century outdoor recreation and the artistry of one of America's finest pictorialists. The image captures members of the Maryland Mountain Club sitting atop Big Schloss Mountain, looking into West Virginia during a three-day walking expedition. This photograph, available for ordering on aaubreybodine.com, is part of a vast collection of over 6,000 images spanning Bodine's 47-year career.
A. Aubrey Bodine (1906-1970) is regarded internationally as a master pictorialist. His work was exhibited in hundreds of prestigious shows and museums, winning top awards against strong competition. Starting his photographic career in 1923 with the Baltimore Sunday Sun, Bodine traveled across Maryland creating documentary pictures of occupations and activities. These images are notable for their artistic design and lighting effects, far exceeding typical newspaper standards. Bodine studied art principles at the Maryland Institute College of Art, viewing the camera and darkroom as tools akin to a painter's brush or sculptor's chisel.
Bodine's craftsmanship involved constant experimentation. He composed pictures in the viewfinder and manipulated negatives with dyes, intensifiers, pencil markings, and even scraping to achieve desired effects. He added clouds photographically and performed other elaborate manipulations. His rationale was that, like a painter, he selected features that suited his sense of mood, proportion, and design. As he stated, 'The picture was the thing, not the manner of arriving at it. He did not take a picture, he made a picture.'
The full biography of Bodine, written by his editor Harold A. Williams, is available on aaubreybodine.com. The website also offers reprints and note cards of his images. This photograph of the Mountain Club of Maryland not only documents a historical outing but also exemplifies Bodine's artistic approach, making it a valuable piece for collectors and historians alike.
