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Contributing Writer Sensory Memory & Embodied Experience

Priya Kapoor

Priya Kapoor has contributed to Light & Composition since 2010. Her Reflections approach photography through the body rather than the mind — opening with something tasted, smelled, or touched before arriving at the image itself. Priya writes about memory as it lives in the hands and the throat, not the intellect. Her pieces have a physical texture that readers describe as something closer to sensation than to reading.

1,125 Published Reflections

Reflections by Priya Kapoor

Showing 12 of 1,125 essays
The Hum of Departure Photo of the Day
April 7, 2016

The Hum of Departure

The smell of burnt kerosene always pulls me back to the edge of a summer field, where the air vibrates with a low, guttural thrum that rattles the very marrow of my bones. It is a heavy, metallic scent, sharp enough to sting the back of the throat, yet it carries the promise of something […]
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The Salt of the Stride Photo of the Day
April 6, 2016

The Salt of the Stride

The smell of damp river silt always clings to the back of my throat, a metallic tang that reminds me of low tide and heavy, humid air. It is a thick, humid scent that sticks to the skin like a second layer of clothing, heavy with the brine of the sea and the sweat of […]
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The Hum of Cold Steel Photo of the Day
March 31, 2016

The Hum of Cold Steel

The air at midnight tastes of ozone and damp concrete, a sharp, metallic tang that settles at the back of the throat. I remember standing on a balcony once, the railing biting into my palms with a cold, unyielding grip that seemed to pull the heat right out of my bones. There is a specific […]
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The Hum of Sunlight Photo of the Day
March 27, 2016

The Hum of Sunlight

The smell of damp earth after a sudden monsoon rain always brings me back to the skin of a ripe mango—sticky, sweet, and clinging to my fingertips. There is a specific heat in the tropics that doesn’t just sit on the surface; it settles into the marrow of your bones, a heavy, golden hum that […]
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The Sharp Breath of Winter Photo of the Day
March 26, 2016

The Sharp Breath of Winter

The first thing I remember is the sting. It is a sharp, metallic cold that bites at the tip of the nose and settles deep in the lungs, tasting faintly of ozone and ancient stone. My fingers ache with a dull, throbbing numbness, the kind that comes from gripping something frozen until the skin turns […]
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The Hum of the Unseen Photo of the Day
March 25, 2016

The Hum of the Unseen

The air before a storm tastes of wet slate and crushed mint. It is a heavy, metallic tang that settles at the back of the throat, signaling that the world is about to shift its weight. I remember standing on a porch as a child, feeling the sudden drop in temperature against my skin, a […]
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The Weight of the Harvest Photo of the Day
March 25, 2016

The Weight of the Harvest

The smell of damp earth always brings me back to the kitchen floor of my childhood, where the cool tiles met the soles of my feet. There is a specific, heavy sweetness to the air when the season turns—a scent like bruised apples and dried stalks, thick enough to coat the back of the throat. […]
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The Velvet Pulse of Soil Photo of the Day
March 16, 2016

The Velvet Pulse of Soil

The smell of damp earth after a long drought is not just a scent; it is a heavy, cool weight that settles in the back of your throat. It tastes like iron and ancient, waking roots. When I press my palms into the soil, I am not looking for anything. I am waiting for the […]
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The Echo of Empty Space Photo of the Day
March 9, 2016

The Echo of Empty Space

The smell of damp wood always brings me back to the porch of my childhood home, where the grain felt like braille under my fingertips. There is a specific, hollow ache in a seat left vacant—a lingering warmth that slowly bleeds into the air until only the cold, hard surface remains. We spend so much […]
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The Weight of Fragility Photo of the Day
March 5, 2016

The Weight of Fragility

The smell of sun-baked stone always brings me back to the riverbank of my childhood. It is a dry, mineral scent, like dust settling on warm skin after a long afternoon of running barefoot. If you press your palm against that kind of rock, you can feel the history of the earth—the slow, stubborn patience […]
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The Wax and the Wish Photo of the Day
March 1, 2016

The Wax and the Wish

The smell of a struck match always brings me back to the kitchen floor of my childhood. It is a sharp, sulfurous sting that blooms into the sweet, heavy scent of melting paraffin. I remember the way the heat would press against my cheeks, a sudden, localized summer in the middle of a dark room. […]
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Salt on the Skin Photo of the Day
February 26, 2016

Salt on the Skin

There is a specific grit that settles into the creases of your palms after a day spent near the tide. It is the taste of salt, sharp and metallic, lingering on the back of your throat long after the sun has dipped below the horizon. I remember the feeling of damp sand cooling beneath my […]
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