The Smudge in the Lens

I crossed the Atlantic for the first time. Three days later, I bumped my camera. The result was a smudge in the middle of the lens. Depending on the angle of the light, a spot would appear. I didn't have another camera, and fixing it or buying a new one were not options at that time. My only alternative was a vintage cell phone with extremely poor image quality, so it wasn´t an option. Desperate circumstances often require extreme measures. Mine was deciding not to retouch the images after the trip. I would not be able to take many of the photographs I wanted to, I would take the photographs I could. I would conceal the smudge in complicity with the background. I would be thankful each and every time the light would be my ally, and if it didn´t, I would look around and forward to a completely different one. Given the case, I would even come to terms with the “damned spot” and let it be. From then on, the nightmare had a happy ending and the journey was also one of photographic discovery.