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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 Sting of Sudden Heat Photo of the Day
July 1, 2013

The Sting of Sudden Heat

The smell of scorched earth always brings me back to the kitchen floor of my childhood, where a dropped kettle once hissed against the tiles. It is a sharp, metallic scent that clings to the back of the throat, tasting of ozone and frantic movement. Before the mind can register the danger, the skin remembers […]
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The Pulse of Chlorophyll Photo of the Day
June 22, 2013

The Pulse of Chlorophyll

The smell of crushed grass always brings me back to the humid afternoons of my childhood, when the air felt thick enough to drink. I remember the sticky sap that would cling to my palms after pulling at wild stems, a cool, resinous film that refused to wash away. It is a scent that lives […]
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The Salt of Morning Air Photo of the Day
June 18, 2013

The Salt of Morning Air

The smell of damp earth after a long night of rain is a heavy, velvet thing. It clings to the back of the throat, tasting faintly of minerals and cold stone. I remember waking in a room where the air felt thick with the promise of something hidden, a quiet pressure against the skin that […]
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The Breath of Stone Photo of the Day
June 15, 2013

The Breath of Stone

The air in high places tastes of thin, cold iron and ancient dust. It settles in the back of the throat, a dry sharpness that reminds you how far you are from the sea. I remember the feeling of a reed flute against my own lips—the wood was cool, polished smooth by the oils of […]
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Salt, Smoke, and Season Photo of the Day
June 14, 2013

Salt, Smoke, and Season

The kitchen floor was always cool against my bare heels, a sharp contrast to the humid, heavy air that clung to the walls like damp linen. I remember the sting of raw onion—a sudden, biting sharpness that made my eyes water before I even reached for the knife. It is a scent that travels deep […]
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The Salt of Morning Photo of the Day
June 14, 2013

The Salt of Morning

The taste of a new morning is always a little metallic, like a copper coin held under the tongue. It is the sharp, clean scent of damp earth before the sun has fully claimed the pavement, and the rough, scratchy friction of a cotton shirt against skin that has not yet warmed to the day. […]
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The Hum of the Current Photo of the Day
June 13, 2013

The Hum of the Current

The smell of damp stone always brings me back to the river’s edge, that sharp, metallic scent of water rushing over cold silt. It is a heavy, humid smell that clings to the back of the throat, tasting faintly of iron and ancient rain. I remember the sensation of standing on a bridge, feeling the […]
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The Breath of Stone Photo of the Day
June 11, 2013

The Breath of Stone

The air at that height tastes like cold iron and thin, sharp needles. It is a flavor that scrapes the back of your throat, waking up parts of your lungs you usually leave dormant in the valley. I remember the feeling of wool against my neck, a coarse, heavy barrier against a wind that seems […]
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The Grit of Truth Photo of the Day
May 28, 2013

The Grit of Truth

The taste of iron always lingers when the air turns thick with unspoken things. It is the metallic tang of a penny held too long in a sweating palm, or the sharp, copper bite of a lip bitten until it bleeds. We carry these sensations in the hollows of our collarbones, a physical weight that […]
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The Weight of Wool and Bone Photo of the Day
May 27, 2013

The Weight of Wool and Bone

The smell of wet wool is a heavy, thick thing. It clings to the back of the throat, tasting of damp earth and the sharp, metallic tang of cold mountain air. I remember the feeling of coarse fibers against my palms—the way they resist, then yield, holding the heat of a living body that has […]
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The Weight of Green Photo of the Day
May 23, 2013

The Weight of Green

The smell of crushed water hyacinth is thick, green, and slightly swampy, like the breath of a river after a long, humid afternoon. It clings to the skin, a damp, vegetal perfume that reminds me of childhood summers spent wading through silt. I remember the cool, slimy slide of stems against my palms and the […]
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The Grit of Conviction Photo of the Day
May 23, 2013

The Grit of Conviction

The smell of rain on hot asphalt always brings me back to the feeling of a crowd pressing against my shoulders—that specific, electric friction of bodies moving in unison. It is a coarse, metallic scent, like copper coins held too long in a sweaty palm. There is a weight to it, a heaviness that settles […]
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