I just heard that Nakivubo Stadium in Kampala, Uganda, home of the Kampala Boxing Club has been sold for development. and the has to move.

The club has been in the Stadium since it was founded in the 1950’s. It’s a small space tucked in under the stands, with room for only an undersized “puncher’s ring” that leaves little room to dance away from an aggressive boxer. In spite of its small size, it is centrally located, easy to reach for people from around the city that want to train.

But the thing that most concerns me is losing that light. There is a long row of windows facing west, and as it gets deeper into the afternoon, shafts of warm sunlight pierce the room and light everything in the most dazzling way. If I were trying to light the space I would never ever anything so radical. But that was the light I encountered when I first walked in, and I had to deal with it. The trick was to find an exposure that would hold detail in the range between the light-colored walls in direct sun and dark skin in shadow. It was not easy, but I managed to get that extraordinary look of sun, dust…of Africa!

When I got back from my first trip and looked at what I’d shot, I knew at once that I had to go back. Within a few months I was there again, and a year later I made yet another trip. To me it was like visiting another universe. Everything was so unlike what I knew, and being there really kept me awake and alive. That feeling was was why I’d been drawn to photography in the first place.

I’m always thinking about heading back, and I just hope that they find a new place that has great light.