Doctorsid is a Gatlinburg, Tennessee based photographer / commercial artist who has been capturing photographic images since 1970. Most photographers have a mentor of some kind. Mine was my cousin who taught photography at a junior high school. The first time I went into the darkroom and saw all those huge brown jugs filled with chemistry and the photos hanging on a wire to dry, I was hooked. After converting half of my parents garage into a darkroom, I would spend all day and night every weekend developing and printing. Any money I made from mowing lawns and delivering newspapers would be spent on darkroom and camera equipment. I would eventually turn my darkroom into a two room lab with one room for black and white and the other for color. Black and white prints on Bromide paper and Cibachrome prints from my slides were hanging on every square inch of wall space in my bedroom. Plus-X pan and Kodachrome 64 were my favorite films that I exposed with my 35mm camera. In 1980 I worked in the camera department of a large retail store which enabled me to learn a great deal about photography products and equipment. In March of 1982 I opened the "Image Factory", a full service photography store, darkroom, studio and school. Most of my customers came by just to hang out because they liked the living room atmosphere and would sit and chat for hours. I taught classes on capturing and developing photographs and also made the darkroom available for rent to students and photographers. In August of 1983 I sold the Image Factory and moved to Charlotte, NC where I opened a small advertising agency known as Image Works . Not only did I provide photography and graphic design but I also printed the clients media projects on a small offset press. From concept to final printed piece I was able to have complete control which assured maximum quality. When a financial drought hit in 1989, I took as position as Art Director of a large flexographic printing Pre-press house. This opportunity helped me to expand my knowledge base into the packaging industry where I was designed many different types of product packaging. It wasn't until I went out on my own again as a Macintosh systems consultant that I acquired the name "Doctorsid". But it didn't take too long before I realized that I did not want to be the Mac doctor, or any type of IT troubleshooter for that matter. When the decision to move to Florida came around, I took a job running a 30" Meihle two color pres for about a year to save up the funds to make such a move. I moved to Melbourne, Florida in 1996 and became Art Director of a small ad agency, creating graphic design for trade shows, brochures and authoring interactive CD Rom titles. By the year 2000, my photography interest would begin to reach a new peak as I became art director for Shutterbug and eDigital Photo magazines. Not only was my graphic design endeavors being elevated to a new level, my passion for photography that I had back in the 70's was burning strong once again. I was being exposed to all aspects of photography daily. During my tenure with Shutterbug I had the opportunity to review several cameras and write review articles for the magazine. After two years of failed promises by the publisher, I decided to produce my own photography magazine. While it is still only an online publication, in the first year photographicage.com reached the level of daily traffic that Shutterbugs web site is getting. I was also the president of the Camera Club of Brevard in which I helped the group of over 90 photographers elevate their knowledge of photography. Shortly after having a new home built in 2001, I left Shutterbug to branch out on my own once again. I opened "Doctorsid Graphic and Interactive Solutions" and began working from an office in my home. After a couple of years from a home based operation I moved my Gallery/Studio into historic Cocoa Village. Taking advantage of the housing boom in Florida, Doctorsid cashed out in 2005 and moved his Gallery / Studio to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. He is now located in a community that not only offers more prospective art buying clients, but also a full change of seasons and a new world of scenery to capture.
- Visit My Studio & Gallery in Gatlinburg, Tennessee
