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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 Breath of Cold Stone Photo of the Day
January 3, 2013

The Breath of Cold Stone

The air at high altitude tastes like iron and silence. It is a thin, sharp thing that scrapes the back of your throat, leaving the metallic tang of snow that has never known the warmth of a valley floor. I remember the feeling of wool against my neck, damp and heavy, and the way my […]
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The Threshold of Breath Photo of the Day
January 1, 2013

The Threshold of Breath

The air at high altitude has a specific texture; it is thin, sharp, and tastes faintly of cold stone and ancient, pulverized ice. When you inhale, it does not just fill your lungs; it scrapes against the back of your throat, a reminder that you are a guest in a place that does not need […]
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The Weight of Dust Photo of the Day
December 30, 2012

The Weight of Dust

The air in the heat of the afternoon tastes like dry earth and iron. It is a thick, gritty sensation that coats the back of the throat, reminding you that you are made of the same ground you walk upon. I remember the feeling of a heavy strap digging into a shoulder, the way the […]
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The Weight of Stillness Photo of the Day
December 28, 2012

The Weight of Stillness

The smell of wet earth always brings me back to the kitchen floor of my childhood, where the humidity would cling to my skin like a damp wool blanket. There is a specific, heavy silence that follows a sudden downpour—a quiet so thick you can almost taste the metallic tang of ozone on your tongue. […]
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The Hum of Woven Thread Photo of the Day
December 24, 2012

The Hum of Woven Thread

The smell of raw wool is a heavy, lanolin-rich blanket that clings to the back of the throat. It is the scent of damp earth and animal warmth, a smell that insists you pay attention to the labor hidden in every fiber. I remember the rough, rhythmic scratch of a wooden loom against my palms, […]
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The Breath of Stone Photo of the Day
December 24, 2012

The Breath of Stone

The air at that height has a sharp, metallic tang, like licking a frozen spoon. It is thin enough to make your lungs ache, a dry rasp that settles deep in the chest. I remember the feeling of grit beneath my fingernails, the way the cold earth pulls the heat right out of your palms […]
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The Breath of High Grass Photo of the Day
December 23, 2012

The Breath of High Grass

The smell of damp earth after a long climb is a heavy, velvet thing that clings to the back of your throat. It is the scent of cold stone and crushed clover, a sharp sweetness that wakes the lungs. I remember the feeling of wind against my shins—not a gentle breeze, but a persistent, biting […]
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The Breath of Stone Photo of the Day
December 23, 2012

The Breath of Stone

The air in the mountains tastes of iron and wet slate, a sharp, metallic cold that settles deep in the lungs. It is a flavor that demands you slow your pulse, a stillness so heavy it feels like wool pressed against the skin. I remember the sensation of damp mist clinging to my hair, that […]
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The Earth Beneath Our Fingernails Photo of the Day
December 21, 2012

The Earth Beneath Our Fingernails

There is a specific coolness to damp earth that stays in the creases of your palms long after you have washed them. It is a heavy, grounding scent, like the air just before a monsoon breaks, thick with the promise of something being born. I remember the sensation of wet silt sliding between my fingers […]
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The Grit of Survival Photo of the Day
December 19, 2012

The Grit of Survival

The smell of scorched iron and damp earth always brings me back to the edge of a precipice. It is a metallic, biting scent that clings to the back of the throat, tasting faintly of coal dust and hurried sweat. My skin remembers the vibration of the ground before my ears register the roar—a deep, […]
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The Breath of High Places Photo of the Day
December 18, 2012

The Breath of High Places

The air at that altitude tastes like cold iron and silence. It is a sharp, thin sensation that scrapes the back of your throat, leaving behind the metallic tang of snow that has never known the warmth of a valley. I remember the feeling of wool against my neck, the way the fabric stiffened with […]
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The Salt of the Current Photo of the Day
December 14, 2012

The Salt of the Current

The smell of wet wood is a specific kind of memory—it is the scent of something that has spent its entire life drinking the river. When I press my palm against the rough, splintered grain of a boat hull, I feel the vibration of the water beneath it, a low, rhythmic thrumming that travels up […]
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