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Contributing Writer Storytelling & Travel Writing

Tom Bretherton

Tom Bretherton has spent the better part of two decades travelling, and the better part of that time paying attention. He has contributed to Light & Composition since 2014 with a writer's instinct for the particular — the name of a town, the timing of a conversation, the kind of detail that makes a story feel true. His Reflections are brief narratives that arrive at something universal by way of somewhere very specific.

621 Published Reflections

Reflections by Tom Bretherton

Showing 12 of 621 essays
The Currency of Joy Photo of the Day
April 30, 2019

The Currency of Joy

I remember a morning in a dusty market in Marrakech where I had absolutely no common language with the woman selling oranges. We spent ten minutes gesturing at the price, my broken Arabic failing me entirely, until she finally held up a piece of fruit, took a bite, and laughed at my clumsy attempt to […]
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The Weight of the Horizon Photo of the Day
April 14, 2019

The Weight of the Horizon

I remember a guide in the bush named Elias who told me that the savanna doesn’t keep secrets; it only keeps pace. We were sitting in the back of a dusty truck, the engine ticking as it cooled, listening to the silence that isn’t really silent at all. He pointed toward a distant ridge and […]
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The Surface of Things Photo of the Day
April 12, 2019

The Surface of Things

I remember sitting by a canal in Amsterdam, watching the rain disturb the oily sheen of the water. An old man sat next to me, eating a sandwich wrapped in brown paper. He pointed at the ripples and said, ‘The world is mostly just a mirror that refuses to stay still.’ He was right. We […]
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The Weight of a Smile Photo of the Day
April 9, 2019

The Weight of a Smile

I remember a morning in a market in Luang Prabang where a young boy was selling woven baskets. He couldn’t have been more than ten, yet he handled the currency with the weary precision of a banker twice his age. When I bought a small tray, he didn’t offer the rehearsed grin of a merchant; […]
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The Weight of Old Stones Photo of the Day
March 29, 2019

The Weight of Old Stones

I remember sitting on a low stone wall in a village that felt like it had been carved directly out of the hillside. An old man named Elias sat beside me, peeling an orange with a pocketknife. He didn’t say much, but he gestured toward the valley as the light began to thicken and turn […]
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Echoes in the Stone Photo of the Day
March 27, 2019

Echoes in the Stone

I remember sitting in a small café in Ferrara, watching an old man trace the lines of a brick wall with his thumb as if he were reading braille. He told me that the city wasn’t built for us, but for the centuries that came before. We are just temporary tenants, he said, walking through […]
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The Currency of a Smile Photo of the Day
March 19, 2019

The Currency of a Smile

I was sitting at a roadside stall in a small town outside of Pune, nursing a cup of milky, spiced tea that was far too hot to drink. A young girl, no older than seven, was playing with a discarded plastic bottle near the dust of the road. She didn’t have much, but when she […]
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The Skin of Time Photo of the Day
March 17, 2019

The Skin of Time

I remember sitting on a rusted bench in a botanical garden in Kyoto, watching an elderly man trace the grooves of a cedar tree with his thumb. He wasn’t looking at the sky or the path ahead; he was entirely focused on the map of life etched into the wood. We often walk past the […]
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Whispers in the Stone Photo of the Day
March 8, 2019

Whispers in the Stone

I once sat with an old stonemason in a village outside of Florence who spent his days repairing walls that had stood for centuries. He told me that he never felt like he was building anything new; he was just holding a conversation with the people who had come before him. He would run his […]
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The Weight of One Photo of the Day
February 23, 2019

The Weight of One

I remember sitting in a crowded train station in Mumbai, watching the tide of commuters move toward the platforms. Everyone was rushing, yet there was a strange, rhythmic synchronicity to the chaos. I struck up a conversation with an elderly man sitting next to me, clutching a worn leather bag. He told me that in […]
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The Quiet Ritual of Afternoon Photo of the Day
February 23, 2019

The Quiet Ritual of Afternoon

I remember sitting in a small, tiled cafe in Nha Trang, watching an older man meticulously stir his coffee for three full minutes. He didn’t look at his phone or the street outside; he simply watched the steam rise, his face softening with every slow rotation of the spoon. It was a Tuesday, the kind […]
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The Silence of High Places Photo of the Day
February 17, 2019

The Silence of High Places

I remember sitting on a ridge in the Caucasus, sharing a thermos of bitter tea with a local shepherd named Elvin. He didn’t speak much English, and my Azeri was limited to greetings, but we sat for an hour watching the mist roll over the jagged spine of the mountains. There is a specific kind […]
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