What kind of nut would travel around the United States and the world, spend long days lugging heavy camera equipment all over a loud gymnasium just to take wrestling photos? How about the many more hours spent editing and preparing the shots in order to post them on the internet? As a hobby? For free?    You have to be some kind of wrestling fan to do that, wouldn't you? Meet Al Elrefei of Birmingham, Ala.    Al is a doctor in Birmingham, Ala. who enjoys photography and martial arts. He has become a major fan of amateur wrestling, one of those people who take personal time to attend events around the nation. Last spring, he asked if he might get a photo pass to shoot some USA Wrestling events.    Along the way, he met Danielle Hobeika, a nationally-ranked women's freestyle wrestler. Danielle has a passion for computers, internet design, and of course, wrestling. When Danielle suggested that she assist Al in posting his photos on the internet for all to see, a new webpage was born: amateurwrestlingphotos.com.    Al was telling his story to me between sessions at the 2002 Women's World Championships in Halkida, Greece a few weeks ago. Al was able to attend the event, by taking a few day sidetrip on a journey to Egypt to visit his family. It was his first World Championships wrestling event since starting his photo webpage, and was an enlightening and enjoyable experience for him.    "Wrestling is a great sport," says Elrefei, who participated in judo and other martial arts as a youth but not wrestling. "It has action, emotions, and a lot of people who come out to take part. It lends itself to great photography."    In addition to finding some personal satisfaction and fun from shooting the sport, Al also saw a glaring need. There are very few good wrestling images in the general public that are accessible to everybody.    He has discovered that there are people who enjoy wrestling all over the nation who can not get to the many major wrestling events scattered across the nation. They are starving for information, especially visual information, on the sport. He has been able to spend the time, and devote his personal resources, to capturing this action. All he wants in return is the chance to share these photos with as many people as possible.    "You can't travel to these events, but you want to know what happened," he explains. "If you see 500 photos of the event, you will have a great idea of what happened."    Elrefei figures that he has already posted 5,000 wrestling photos online, and that is just since June, when Hobeika was able to start placing his images on the new web page. This is his way to help promote and build the sport, to combat the challenges faced by wrestling on all levels. Seeing is believing, and he wants everybody to see what wrestling is all about.    "There is so much talent, so much skill, but nobody knows it," says Elrefei. "It's a waste. It's gone."    He gives tremendous credit to Hobeika, also a wrestling fanatic, for using her many skills with the internet and computers to bring the photos to life and to reach out to the world through the internet. It is a partnership that seems to be working, and our sport is getting the benefit.    Al Elrefei is one of a long list of special people who enjoy taking wrestling pictures. These are wrestling photographers, not to be confused with sports photographers or professional photographers. In most cases, these people were first involved in wrestling in some other capacity, then learned how to shoot the sport with a camera. Most of these people, like Al, are primarily interested in using their hobby to help the sport of wrestling in their own special way.    Believe me, a wrestling photographer has a much better chance of catching a dramatic wrestling image than those who claim to be the photo experts. The lighting may not be perfect, and the color is maybe slightly less dramatic, but they know when to push the button. By knowing the sport, they are ready to shoot when a lighting-quick technique is executed. They can anticipate the action, because they know wrestling.    I have seen some hot-shot professional photographers, often from the major publications or photo services, who just can't get good wrestling photos. They often tend to zoom in too close, trying to capture the facial expressions, yet cutting off key body parts. They don't anticipate the action, so often the pictures just show wrestlers standing around or lying flat on the mat. They do not understand that it takes the entire body to execute a wrestling move, nor that there is raw beauty in a proper technique at its most explosive. The lighting is right, and the color is perfect, but the essence of the sport is missed by these so-called photo experts.    The amateur wrestling photographers are amateurs like the athletes; they don't pay the mortgage with their photography income, usually spending more on travel and film than they ever receive from their photo fees. They want to be a part of wrestling, and they want to share their experiences with others. Your favorite wrestling magazines and newspapers could not survive without these dedicated wrestling photographers.    Some of the names you may recognize are Sonja and Jack Stanbro, John Johnson, Ginger Robinson, Tim Tushla, Peter Venier, Wyatt Schultz, Greg Guy, Steve Brown, the late Chris Poff and so many others. Sometimes, they are the actual wrestling publication staff, like Amateur Wrestling News' John Hoke, who take the shots in addition to their other editorial duties. There are a few pro photographers that choose to do wrestling even if there is not a major market for their wares, like Kevin Allen, George Tiedemann, Casey Gibson, Tom Kimmell, Steve Spatafore and others. Wrestling can be such a beautiful and powerful sport when the correct images are captured. These are the people who are bringing the best of wrestling to the world through their photography. These are the people who help promote our sport through the lens on their camera.    If you enjoy looking at wrestling photos, you should check out the work done by Al Elrefei and Danielle Hobeika on their web page at amateurwrestlingphotos.com. This is their personal gift to the wrestling community.