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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 Velvet Pulse of Spring Photo of the Day
September 7, 2011

The Velvet Pulse of Spring

The smell of damp earth after a long, brittle winter is a heavy, sweet perfume that clings to the back of the throat. It is the scent of waking up. When I press my palms against the cool, waxy skin of a petal, I feel a vibration that has nothing to do with sound and […]
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The Earth Beneath My Nails Photo of the Day
September 7, 2011

The Earth Beneath My Nails

The smell of rain hitting dry, sun-baked clay is a scent that travels straight to the marrow of my bones. It is a heavy, metallic sweetness, the smell of the earth waking up from a long, thirsty sleep. I remember the feeling of wet mud between my fingers as a child—cool, yielding, and thick, like […]
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The Hum of the Unseen Photo of the Day
September 6, 2011

The Hum of the Unseen

The smell of hot asphalt after a summer rain is a heavy, metallic perfume that clings to the back of the throat. It is the scent of a city exhaling. When I close my eyes, I can still feel the vibration of the ground beneath my feet—a low, steady thrumming that travels up through the […]
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The Dust of Returning Photo of the Day
September 4, 2011

The Dust of Returning

The smell of dry earth after a long day is a specific kind of comfort. It is the scent of sun-baked clay and the faint, sweet musk of cattle, clinging to the hem of a cotton shirt. When I was small, the path home felt endless, the soles of my feet mapping the heat of […]
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The Tongue of Stone Photo of the Day
September 4, 2011

The Tongue of Stone

The taste of dry earth is metallic, like sucking on a copper coin left too long in the sun. It is a grit that settles at the back of the throat, a reminder that we are made of the same dust that shifts beneath our boots. I remember the feeling of a sun-baked cliff against […]
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The Weight of Falling Water Photo of the Day
September 3, 2011

The Weight of Falling Water

The air before a storm tastes like wet slate and ozone, a metallic tang that settles on the back of the tongue. I remember standing near a great rush of water once, where the spray was not just mist, but a physical weight against my skin. It felt like a thousand cool, frantic fingers tapping […]
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The Weight of Silence Photo of the Day
September 3, 2011

The Weight of Silence

The smell of old stone always pulls me back to the earth, a cool, damp scent that clings to the back of the throat like moss. It is a heavy, grounded fragrance, the kind that settles into your skin after a long walk through a place where time has slowed to a crawl. I remember […]
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The Hum of the Current Photo of the Day
September 3, 2011

The Hum of the Current

The smell of crushed marigolds and damp pavement always brings me back to the crowded markets of my childhood. It is a thick, humid scent that clings to the skin, heavy with the promise of something about to begin. I remember the feeling of being pulled through a sea of people, my hand gripped tightly […]
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The Grit of Breath Photo of the Day
August 30, 2011

The Grit of Breath

The air at high altitudes has a sharp, metallic taste, like sucking on a cold copper coin. It is thin and hungry, pulling the moisture right out of your throat until every swallow feels like sandpaper against velvet. I remember the sensation of my own pulse thrumming in my fingertips, a frantic, rhythmic tapping against […]
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The Geography of Joy Photo of the Day
August 30, 2011

The Geography of Joy

The smell of old paper always brings me back to the library of my childhood, where the air was thick with the scent of vanilla-tinged dust and drying ink. It is a dry, brittle smell, yet it feels heavy in the lungs, like a secret kept for decades. When I think of joy, I do […]
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The Breath of Stone Photo of the Day
August 25, 2011

The Breath of Stone

The air at high altitude tastes of nothing—it is thin, sharp, and metallic, like licking a cold iron railing in the dead of winter. It strips the tongue of flavor and leaves the lungs feeling raw, as if you have swallowed a handful of dry, crushed stars. There is a specific silence that lives in […]
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The Breath of Cold Stone Photo of the Day
August 22, 2011

The Breath of Cold Stone

The air at high altitudes has a specific, sharp taste—like sucking on a clean, frozen coin. It is a thin, metallic bite that settles at the back of the throat, waking up parts of the lungs that usually stay dormant in the heavy, humid air of the lowlands. I remember the feeling of wool against […]
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