On Tuesday I had the pleasure of photographing the second annual iHUG Gala event at the National Arts Club in Manhattan. For those not in the know, iHUG is an acronym for I Help Uganda Grow, a grassroots organization that has not only helped erect a school for impoverished African children in the village of Kabalagala, but does everything it can to ensure that its students are properly nourished, dressed, and healthy.

The event was packed, with hundreds of people giving up their time and money to help support the organization. My only obligation was to make sure I got a photo of iHUG’s three founding members. Supposedly, they’ve never been photographed together, which isn’t a surprise as they all pretty much live thousands of miles apart, yet manage to run an amazing charity. Paddy Luzige (left) is the founder of the New Life Church in Uganda, Joanna Breistein (middle) is a New York-based healthcare reporter who runs most of iHUG’s fundraising in the United States, and Jane Dicker (right) is the principal of the school in Kabalagala.

The three rarely meet or hangout, but in the three years since iHUG was conceived these three individuals have changed (and possibly saved) the lives of so many kids in Uganda. It was my pleasure to photograph them together.

Well after almost a year on hiatus, I thought it was time to bring back my photography blog. For a while I thought it was possible to merge this and my Rock & Roll web magazine into one blog, but alas, I just can’t get away with posting photos of pretty people on the same page with pictures of drunken punk rockers. I’m sure they’ll be some overlap, but for the time being I’m going to run this site separate from Life In A Bungalo.

The photo above was taken a few weeks ago at a fundraiser for the Nanubhai Education Foundation. I had never heard of them prior to the event, but was left awestruck by the amount of outreach and support the organization received. Basically, the Nanubhai folks help establish better schools in India by providing much needed funds and overseas educational staff.

The event was packed with tons of friends and celebrities, but the high point for me was getting the chance to photograph a troupe of traditional Indian dancers. Of shot plenty or rock bands in my career, but this was something magical. The shot above was taken prior to the performance. The girls were chatting with each other and going over their show. I got them in the hallway and was able to get a really narrow depth of field to capture the lady in the center’s sheer excitement and anticipation.

I’ll post some dancing photos when I get a chance. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about the Nanubhai Education Foundation, visit their Web site at www.nanubhai.org.