I briefly shared some thoughts on this book in a Phoenix’s Phixations series back in April but since today is an oddly rainy/stormy day in the middle of summer, it felt fitting to share my complete reflection and some more of my favorite photographs from the book.
I hope you enjoy.
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Peaceful, subtle, real. Those are the first words that come to mind as I flip through Tim Carpenter’s book Christmas Day, Buck’s Pond Road [published by The Ice Plant].
“..here Carpenter follows a straightforward path, literally taking the viewer on a two-hour walk from point A to point B.”
The rather monotonous Central Illinois landscape & slight change in compositions throughout this walk of his reminds me a lot of the landscapes I grew up around. It’s liberating and inspiring knowing that this body of work was made during one single morning walk. There’s something about it that just tells me to continue searching for beauty & form around me, even if that involves retracing very familiar steps in places I tend to get bored with. You just never know when the urge to fire away with the camera strikes intensely.
On top of that, it reminds me that you don’t need to make great work all of the time; the most important part is to simply just make work. To me, this book blends the fine line between the worlds of photography & poetry.. making it an ideal read for a rainy day like today.
This is what photography is all about.
Play the episode below to hear more about his creative process, background & some insight into this book in particular:
I already fell in love with the book when Matthew Poburyny wrote about it a while ago. Thank you for sharing it again. Although I have to admit it hurt a little to see your book dog-eared...
I already fell in love with the book when Matthew Poburyny wrote about it a while ago. Thank you for sharing it again. Although I have to admit it hurt a little to see your book dog-eared...
I totally agree that this is a good example of work that doesn't have to be "great" in order to connect and do its job for the artists and the viewer.