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Recently: Shooting along the stream(ing creek)

Posted on January 31, 2008January 31, 2008 by Staff

By Valarie Schwartz

Having grown up with a creek behind my house, it thrilled me to learn when I moved to Chapel Hill in 1994 that Bolin Creek flowed only a few yards beyond my new home. During the five years I lived there, few days passed without spending time with my dog, exploring and enjoying the many varieties of nature offered along property — mostly in Carrboro — that abuts, and some that encompasses, the future Carolina North.

A woodpecker pecking high above in a tree; an owl swooping down repeatedly warning of her nearby nesting brood; ripples, pools and glides repeating down the stream; fallen trees forcing new paths following a storm; descriptions of some of the many sights gifted to frequenters of Bolin Creek.

For 23 years, Dave Otto has lived above the creek in a Carrboro neighborhood. Since retiring from the Environmental Protection Agency, in a job that brought him to Chapel Hill in 1972, he has taken his love of the creek to new levels — ones meant to ensure that the remaining stretches of native forest left in southern Orange County will remain for future generations to enjoy.

Otto, for many people, is the person who pops into mind when they hear or read the words, “Friends of Bolin Creek.” He has expanded his knowledge of the creek and surrounding forest and become an educator, helping the political forces that can make a difference for the beloved corridor understand its far-reaching potential.

It’s how the mayor of Carrboro met him.

“He’s always been a real inspirational spokesperson for the organization and the significance of Bolin Creek,” Mark Chilton said. “He’s somebody who leads hikes and invites government officials to come and see what the organization is trying to preserve.”

Otto opened Chilton’s eyes so wide that the mayor envisions a public trail that will connect the soon-to-be Morris Grove Elementary School at Old 86 on Eubanks Road through trails along Bolin Creek to University Mall.

Otto’s vision extends to connecting the trail with the North Carolina system of trails that will span from the mountains to the coast.

Combining his love of nature with his photographic pursuits, Otto has grown his talent into his first photo exhibition, opening Friday at Carrboro Town Hall. A reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 8, during the 2ndFriday Art Walk.

Photography started for Otto, 66, at age 8, when, growing up in a blue-collar family outside of Boston, his mother gave him a Brownie “box” camera that someone had given her.

“I started taking pictures of pets,” Otto said.

Now, beyond beautiful images of the flowing creek and the wildflowers and creatures that inhabit the area, he has captured abstract versions — the kinds of images one can find while staring into a pool of water or watching water dance over rocks. The show will contain 50 giclée prints that translate his love of the creek both literally and abstractly.

“Sometimes I go beyond the literal definition of nature,” Otto said. “Looking down at the reflections is sometimes like looking into the universe.”

Contact Valarie Schwartz at 923-3746 or valariekays@mac.com.

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