There is nothing sadder to me than a shelf of unread books. Writing -- along with the other arts, such as painting and photography -- is about more than creation alone. It's about communication. To an artist, the idea that something they created would sit in a box, unseen by anyone, is painful.

I've worked in media on and off over the years, and have had stories and photos both -- and even paintings -- published numerous times. But the reason I write, the reason I paint, the reason I make photographs isn't commercial. Pay is nice, but when I set out to create something, it's because I see a story that needs telling. And sometimes those stories won't fit within the demands of the market-driven publishing world. But shoving them into a box -- virtual or otherwise -- would border on cruelty.

This website is designed as a remedy for that. Some of the things here are perfectly commercially viable -- in fact, a number of them were published previously. Some, on the other hand, would only be of interest to a handful of people. They are primarily here for others to enjoy, however few, however many.

I don't have the space to thank everyone who has given me help over the years, much less in putting up a site on the web. However, I would be remiss in not picking out a few individuals for their encouragement to me in all of my artistic pursuits: my parents and brother, who started me off; Misko Kranjec of Ljubljana, Slovenia, for his constant inspiration; Scott Lothes, Chris Crook, and everyone at the Steel Highway Society for raising the bar; Martin Burwash for his crusty but high quality advice; Kathi Kube for taking a big chance as well as encouraging me to chart a new path; to my invaluable friend Jonathan Glanville for making it fun again; and last but not least, to everyone at the "organization", including especially my best friend Brian Schmidt, for being the one who made me see that photography was more than just snapshots.

~Alexander B. Craghead

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