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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 a Wingbeat Photo of the Day
January 16, 2014

The Weight of a Wingbeat

There is a specific humidity that clings to the skin in the deep woods, a damp, velvet heaviness that smells of crushed moss and wet bark. It is a scent that settles in the back of the throat, thick and ancient. I remember standing in such a place once, where the air was so still […]
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The Texture of Stillness Photo of the Day
January 2, 2014

The Texture of Stillness

There is a particular grit to the earth when you press your palms into it, a cool, damp resistance that speaks of things buried deep. I remember the sensation of sun-baked bark against my cheek, the rough, dry ridges scratching my skin as I held my breath, trying to become part of the tree itself. […]
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The Weight of Divided Light Photo of the Day
December 28, 2013

The Weight of Divided Light

The smell of old stone is always the same—a cold, mineral dampness that clings to the back of the throat like moss. When I press my palm against a wall that has stood for centuries, I feel the slow, rhythmic pulse of the earth beneath the mortar. It is a dry, chalky texture, rough enough […]
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The Taste of Green Photo of the Day
December 21, 2013

The Taste of Green

The smell of crushed clover always brings me back to the damp earth of a childhood garden, where the grass was cool enough to soothe a scraped knee. There is a specific, sharp sweetness to a blade of grass when it is torn—a raw, chlorophyll scent that clings to the fingertips like a secret. We […]
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The Salt of Home Photo of the Day
December 18, 2013

The Salt of Home

The smell of boiling water always brings me back to a kitchen that no longer exists. It is a sharp, clean scent that clings to the curtains and settles into the pores of your skin. I remember the specific resistance of a fork against a soft edge, the way a meal can feel like a […]
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The Roughness of Stillness Photo of the Day
December 13, 2013

The Roughness of Stillness

There is a specific, dry heat that lives in the bark of an old tree. It is a smell of sun-baked sap and ancient, crumbling wood, a scent that clings to your fingertips long after you have pulled your hand away. When you press your palm against that rough, uneven surface, you feel the slow, […]
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The Grit of Unfinished Games Photo of the Day
December 12, 2013

The Grit of Unfinished Games

The smell of damp earth after a sudden rain always pulls me back to the knees of my childhood. I remember the specific, gritty texture of soil under my fingernails—the way it felt like a secret I was burying, or perhaps unearthing. There is a raw, metallic tang to that humidity, a scent that clings […]
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The Weight of Small Hands Photo of the Day
December 12, 2013

The Weight of Small Hands

The smell of damp earth after a long day of sun is a heavy, sweet perfume that clings to the skin. It is the scent of labor, of soil turned over by tired hands, and the cooling breath of evening settling into the valleys. I remember the feeling of a smaller hand tucked into my […]
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The Weight of Comfort Photo of the Day
December 9, 2013

The Weight of Comfort

The kitchen was always a humid, heavy space, thick with the scent of toasted cumin and the sharp, metallic tang of a hot iron skillet. I remember the way the steam would cling to my skin, a damp veil that felt like a secret. There is a particular texture to hunger—it is a hollow ache […]
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The Pulse of Wet Earth Photo of the Day
December 2, 2013

The Pulse of Wet Earth

The smell of damp earth always pulls me back to the ground, a heavy, mineral scent that clings to the back of the throat like a secret. It is the smell of things being born from nothing—the way cool, slick mud yields under the pressure of a thumb, sliding against the skin with a rhythmic, […]
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Dust on the Wing Photo of the Day
November 30, 2013

Dust on the Wing

The smell of damp earth after a sudden rain is a heavy, velvet thing that clings to the back of the throat. It reminds me of the way my mother’s silk sari felt against my cheek when I was small—cool, slightly rough, and smelling of pressed flowers and old cedar chests. There is a specific […]
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Salt on the Skin Photo of the Day
November 28, 2013

Salt on the Skin

The air at the edge of the day tastes of brine and cooling stone. It is a thick, humid weight that clings to the back of the throat, carrying the faint, metallic tang of the tide retreating over crushed shells. I remember the feeling of sand trapped between my toes—not the dry, shifting grains of […]
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