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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 Weight of Air Photo of the Day
February 9, 2015

The Weight of Air

The smell of damp earth after a long drought is a heavy, velvet thing that clings to the back of the throat. It is the scent of anticipation, of soil waking up to the promise of rain. I remember the feeling of standing in a field, the tall grass brushing against my shins like dry, […]
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The Weight of a Breath Photo of the Day
February 3, 2015

The Weight of a Breath

The smell of dry earth after a long drought is a sharp, metallic sweetness that clings to the back of the throat. It is the scent of waiting. When I was a child, I would press my palms against the rough, prickly stems of wild weeds, feeling the tiny, stinging needles bite into my skin. […]
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The Grit of Old Stone Photo of the Day
January 31, 2015

The Grit of Old Stone

The smell of damp earth after a long rain always brings me back to the alleyways of my childhood. It is a scent that clings to the back of the throat, metallic and cool, like pressing your cheek against a wall of weathered brick. I remember the rough texture of those walls, the way the […]
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The Weight of Dust Photo of the Day
January 27, 2015

The Weight of Dust

There is a specific, metallic tang that rises from dry earth when it has been left undisturbed for too long—the smell of iron and ancient, sun-baked silence. It clings to the back of the throat, a gritty reminder that the ground beneath us is not merely soil, but a ledger of everything that has returned […]
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The Salt of High Altitudes Photo of the Day
January 25, 2015

The Salt of High Altitudes

The air at this height tastes of dry stone and ancient, frozen wind. It is a thin, sharp flavor that catches in the back of the throat, leaving a metallic tang that reminds you how little oxygen there is to spare. I remember the feeling of wool against my cheek—coarse, heavy, and smelling faintly of […]
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The Ember in the Throat Photo of the Day
January 24, 2015

The Ember in the Throat

The smell of dry earth after a long heatwave is a scent that clings to the back of the throat, metallic and ancient. It is the smell of dust settling into the creases of my palms, a fine, ochre powder that feels like velvet when rubbed between thumb and finger. There is a specific silence […]
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The Veins of Quiet Photo of the Day
January 14, 2015

The Veins of Quiet

The smell of damp earth after a long drought is a heavy, velvet thing that settles deep in the lungs. It is the scent of secrets kept by the soil, a cool, dark musk that clings to the skin like a damp wool sweater. When I press my palm against the rough bark of an […]
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The Weight of Stillness Photo of the Day
January 12, 2015

The Weight of Stillness

The smell of dry earth after a long drought is a sharp, metallic scent that clings to the back of the throat. It is the smell of waiting. When I was a child, I would press my palms against the rough, sun-baked bark of the orchard trees, feeling the vibration of the wind as it […]
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The Weight of Wingbeats Photo of the Day
December 28, 2014

The Weight of Wingbeats

The air before a storm has a specific, metallic thickness. It presses against the skin like a damp wool blanket, heavy and expectant. I remember standing in a field as a child, listening to the sudden, frantic rustle of leaves as the birds took flight all at once. It was not a sound of music, […]
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The Weight of Worn Stone Photo of the Day
December 24, 2014

The Weight of Worn Stone

The smell of damp limestone always brings me back to the feeling of a heavy wool coat against my neck, itchy and grounding. There is a specific grit that settles into the creases of your palms when you lean against ancient walls, a fine, powdery residue of centuries that refuses to be brushed away. It […]
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The Salt of Pure Joy Photo of the Day
December 23, 2014

The Salt of Pure Joy

The taste of a summer afternoon is always a little bit like salt and dust. It is the grit of the playground against your palms, the metallic tang of a bicycle chain, and the sudden, sharp sweetness of a piece of fruit shared in the shade. When you are small, happiness is not a thought; […]
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The Weight of Cool Breath Photo of the Day
December 19, 2014

The Weight of Cool Breath

The air after a storm has a specific, heavy skin. It clings to the back of your throat, tasting of wet stone and crushed moss. I remember walking through a forest where the humidity was so thick it felt like wearing a damp wool sweater, the kind that pulls at your shoulders. Every breath was […]
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