A photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine, titled 'The Winter Sports Move South (1937),' captures the winter landscape of Deer Valley, Pennsylvania, which the caption describes as having enough snow and cold to rival New England. The image, available for viewing and ordering on aaubreybodine.com, is part of Bodine's extensive body of work documenting life in Maryland and the surrounding region.
Bodine, a renowned pictorialist photographer, began his career in 1923 with the Baltimore Sunday Sun. Over 47 years, he created thousands of documentary images that often transcended typical newspaper work, displaying artistic design and lighting. His photograph 'The Winter Sports Move South' reflects the mid-20th-century trend of winter sports expanding into the Mid-Atlantic region, with Deer Valley positioned as a destination for weekend ski trips.
The photograph is one of more than 6,000 images available on Bodine's website, which also offers reprints and note cards. Bodine's work earned him international recognition in salon competitions, and he was known for his technical craftsmanship, including darkroom manipulations such as adding clouds or scraping negatives to achieve desired effects. He believed photography was a creative discipline, studying art principles at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Bodine's legacy is preserved through his photographs and a biography, A Legend In His Time, written by his editor Harold A. Williams, available on the website. The image 'The Winter Sports Move South' not only documents a historical moment in winter sports but also exemplifies Bodine's ability to combine documentary realism with artistic vision.
For those interested in exploring Bodine's work or ordering prints, the website provides access to the full collection. The photograph can be located by entering the image ID 48-078 on the homepage. This image, like many of Bodine's works, offers a window into the past and the development of regional tourism and recreation.
