To photograph is to learn how to die (The Ice Plant, 2022)

Tim Carpenter has crafted a dynamic weaving of thought that I can best describe as a 3-D read. Using quotes by poets and philosophers to specify, and his own writing to illuminate and unify, he describes in 360˚ the perspective on creative thought and action that we’ve been needing, waiting for. You’ll want to keep this book nearby.
— Terri Weifenbach

I don’t know anybody who believes in photography more than Tim Carpenter. His book-length essay draws widely from literature, music, and philosophy, but it’s in service of his passionate sermon on photographs and their ability to elevate our experience of the world. Preach, Brother Tim, preach!
— Alec Soth

To tease out the ineffable and ultimately leave it undisturbed. This is a book that rewards those who defiantly embrace the idiosyncrasies and shortcomings that lend us our essential individuality while sharing in an abiding love for this flawed world.
— Raymond Meeks


A month of Sundays (TIS books, 2021)



Illinois central (Kris Graves Projects, 2019)

Part of LOST II

Rachael Banks’s Favorite 2019 Book

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The king of the birds (TIS books, 2017)

Part of TIS02, with J Carrier, Nelson Chan, and Carl Wooley