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Contributing Writer Memory, Objects & Elegiac Prose

Marta Vidal

Marta Vidal is a writer and archivist whose work explores what physical objects hold — letters, worn photographs, things kept against all practical reason. She has contributed to Light & Composition since 2016. A photograph for Marta is always a form of preservation, something the photographer chose to keep. Her Reflections open with a specific object and arrive, gently, at what it means when the moment has long passed.

389 Published Reflections

Reflections by Marta Vidal

Showing 12 of 389 essays
The Weight of the Current Photo of the Day
February 26, 2023

The Weight of the Current

I keep a small, rusted iron key in the velvet lining of my jewelry box, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold to the touch, and carries the faint, metallic scent of a house that no longer exists. We spend our lives gathering these […]
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The Weight of Stone Photo of the Day
February 22, 2023

The Weight of Stone

I keep a small, rusted skeleton key in a velvet pouch, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold against the palm, a dense little anchor of iron that suggests a threshold I can no longer cross. We spend our lives building walls—of habit, of […]
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The Weight of Dust Photo of the Day
February 10, 2023

The Weight of Dust

I keep a small glass vial on my desk filled with red earth from a place I have not visited in twenty years. It is heavy, far heavier than its size suggests, as if the grit of the desert floor has absorbed the gravity of every hour spent walking upon it. When I tilt the […]
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The Weight of Shared Thresholds Photo of the Day
January 29, 2023

The Weight of Shared Thresholds

I keep a small, rusted iron key in a velvet pouch, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold to the touch, and carries the faint, metallic scent of a house that no longer exists. We spend our lives gathering these fragments—the keys to rooms […]
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The Weight of Stillness Photo of the Day
January 23, 2023

The Weight of Stillness

I keep a small, silver thimble in my desk drawer that belonged to my grandmother. It is worn smooth on one side, a tiny indentation where her needle pressed against the metal thousands of times, a record of every garment she mended for us. When I hold it, I feel the weight of all the […]
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The Weight of Stilled Light Photo of the Day
January 23, 2023

The Weight of Stilled Light

I keep a small, rusted skeleton key in a velvet-lined box, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold to the touch, and carries the faint, metallic scent of a house that no longer exists. There is a strange, aching comfort in holding something that […]
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The Map of Our Years Photo of the Day
January 20, 2023

The Map of Our Years

I keep a small, silver thimble in my desk drawer that once belonged to my grandmother. It is worn smooth on one side, a tiny crater formed by the constant pressure of a needle pushed through heavy fabric. When I run my thumb over that indentation, I feel the weight of the thousands of hours […]
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The Weight of Small Things Photo of the Day
January 14, 2023

The Weight of Small Things

I keep a small, dried petal inside the pages of a dictionary, pressed so thin it has become part of the paper itself. It is a fragile, translucent thing, the color of a sunset that has long since faded into gray. When I touch it, I am reminded that the world is built upon these […]
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The Weight of Summer Heat Photo of the Day
January 3, 2023

The Weight of Summer Heat

I keep a small, tarnished silver spoon in my desk drawer, its handle worn smooth by the thumb of a grandmother I barely knew. It is heavy for its size, a cold weight that anchors me when the air grows thick and stagnant. There is something about the way metal holds the temperature of a […]
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The Echo of the Crowd Photo of the Day
December 29, 2022

The Echo of the Crowd

I keep a small, silver ticket stub in the back of my desk drawer, its edges softened by years of friction against other forgotten scraps. It represents a night of music I can no longer fully hear, yet the weight of it in my palm brings back the sensation of being part of a singular, […]
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The Warmth of Shared Tables Photo of the Day
December 18, 2022

The Warmth of Shared Tables

I keep a small, chipped ceramic plate in the back of my cupboard, the kind that has seen a thousand quiet dinners. It is stained with the ghost of a tomato sauce from a summer evening years ago, a mark I have never been able to scrub away. There is a particular holiness in these […]
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The Weight of a Morning Photo of the Day
December 13, 2022

The Weight of a Morning

I keep a small, chipped ceramic bowl in the back of my cupboard, its glaze worn thin by decades of use. It is far too fragile for daily life now, yet I cannot bring myself to part with it. It holds the ghost of a specific breakfast, the warmth of a kitchen that no longer […]
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