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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 Velvet Photo of the Day
October 7, 2012

The Hum of Velvet

The air in late August tastes of crushed mint and damp earth, a thick, heavy sweetness that clings to the back of the throat. I remember the feeling of a bumblebee brushing against my wrist—a frantic, fuzzy vibration that felt like a tiny, living engine trapped in silk. It is a sensation that bypasses the […]
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The Breath of the Cold Photo of the Day
October 4, 2012

The Breath of the Cold

The taste of morning is always metallic, like a copper coin pressed against the tongue. It is the damp, woolly feeling of a sweater pulled over the head before the sun has had the chance to warm the threads. I remember standing on a porch in the high country, where the air was so thick […]
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The Salt of Sun-Warmed Skin Photo of the Day
October 1, 2012

The Salt of Sun-Warmed Skin

The air in the high desert has a specific grit to it, a dry, mineral taste that settles on the back of the throat like fine flour. I remember the feeling of sun-baked stone against my palms, the way the heat radiates upward, humming against the skin until you can no longer tell where your […]
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The Weight of Small Hands Photo of the Day
September 29, 2012

The Weight of Small Hands

The smell of old prayer rugs is a mixture of dust, cedar, and the faint, lingering scent of someone else’s breath. When I was small, I remember the rough texture of the woven wool against my knees—a prickly, grounding sensation that kept me tethered to the floor while the adults whispered to the ceiling. There […]
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The Breath of Cold Stone Photo of the Day
September 24, 2012

The Breath of Cold Stone

The air in the high mountains has a specific texture; it feels like thin, dry silk against the back of the throat. I remember the sensation of biting into a piece of ice, the way the cold travels from the tongue to the center of the chest, sharp and sudden. It is a quiet, hollow […]
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The Breath of Morning Photo of the Day
September 23, 2012

The Breath of Morning

The air in the early hours has a specific weight, a damp velvet that clings to the skin before the sun has the strength to burn it away. It tastes of wet earth and salt, a cool, grey silence that settles deep in the lungs. I remember waking in a house where the windows were […]
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The Hum of the Spin Photo of the Day
September 20, 2012

The Hum of the Spin

The smell of burnt rubber and gasoline always brings me back to the fairgrounds of my childhood, where the air tasted of spun sugar and ozone. There is a specific vibration that travels up through the soles of your feet when something heavy moves in a circle—a low, rhythmic thrum that rattles the teeth and […]
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The Salt on the Skin Photo of the Day
September 16, 2012

The Salt on the Skin

The smell of low tide is not just the sea; it is the smell of things left behind. It is the sharp, metallic tang of wet rust and the thick, suffocating scent of kelp decaying in the sun. When I was a child, I would press my palms against the harbor walls, feeling the grit […]
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Salt on the Tongue Photo of the Day
September 15, 2012

Salt on the Tongue

The air near the sea has a specific weight, a dampness that clings to the skin like a second, invisible layer of clothing. I remember the taste of it—a sharp, metallic tang of salt that settles on the back of the throat, mingling with the scent of wet stone and cooling sand. It is a […]
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The Steam of Shared Secrets Photo of the Day
September 10, 2012

The Steam of Shared Secrets

The smell of roasted beans always pulls me back to a specific morning, one where the air was thick with the scent of damp earth and burnt sugar. It is a heavy, grounding aroma that clings to the back of the throat, tasting of patience and slow-moving time. I remember the way the heat radiated […]
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The Salt of Joy Photo of the Day
September 9, 2012

The Salt of Joy

The smell of rain hitting hot, dry earth always brings me back to the kitchen of my childhood. It is a sharp, metallic scent that clings to the back of the throat, tasting faintly of minerals and coming storms. When I close my eyes, I can feel the grit of the dust settling on my […]
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The Spiral of Breath Photo of the Day
September 9, 2012

The Spiral of Breath

The smell of cold iron always brings me back to the damp basements of my childhood, where the air tasted of wet stone and ancient, sleeping dust. There is a specific rhythm to climbing stairs that no one talks about—the way your lungs begin to count the steps before your feet do. It is a […]
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