I can picture things as if they were a photograph (for example, a very sweet looking otter after reading the previous post), and it isn't always deliberate. I read the word otter and my brain immediately flashed up an otter as part of reading the post. It would be impossible for me to read 'rainbow' without seeing the colours of a rainbow.
Do others recall where things are based on a recent mental snapshot? For example if I think of my kitchen counter, I 'see' the coffee maker, next to the kettle, with the pasta jars (and approximately how full they are), the bread bin with the half loaf, etc. It makes finding items very easy (I can, without moving, tell you where my bag, keys, hairbrush, iPad, etc etc are - none have set homes - but I can also tell you where the Paris metro card, the bug bite zapper, the gift card for a coffee shop I rarely go to, etc. all are, despite not having seen them for many months, again no set home for them, I can just conjure the image of where they are. Makes grocery shopping simple as I can see if I have yogurt in the fridge, or curry sauce in the cupboard by just thinking (less useful for milk or eggs as I can't see how full they are if I haven't touched them!)
Many images also endure. I recently drew a plan of a house I lived in when I was four (since it was claimed there is no possible way I could remember) We never went to the house again after we moved and there are no photos of most of the house (a few birthday photos of the family room for birthdays and Christmas). I got the layout spot on, and had the colours of the rooms including curtains correct too.
I rely on pictures for so much of my daily life, I'm not sure how I could get by without them (work, home life, even things like driving, I don't need to use sat nav if I've been somewhere before).