Joseph Roti Roti will present a gallery talk titled “The Fascinating World of Dragonflies: Dragonflies through the Camera Lens” on Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m. in the Rotunda at the Niles District Library.
The presentation will be complemented by images of dragonflies photographed in Michigan, and information on the role of dragonflies in conservation. A handout checklist of easy to see species and where to look for them in the Niles area will be available.
The gallery talk is in conjunction with an exhibition of Roti Roti’s nature photography currently on display in the library’s Eleanor and Mowitt Drew Gallery. Most of Roti Roti’s effort in photography has been focused on birds, butterflies and dragonflies. However, he finds plant close up and landscape photography interesting as well. Roti Roti’s outdoor photography style is to photograph dragonflies and other insects in their natural habitat and involved in their normal behaviors, where there is less control of setting and light.
Roti Roti uses photography as a way of seeing the world. There are many details of insects and birds that become apparent in photographs but are missed in an often fleeting visual observation. His work with bird and dragonfly photography has made him realize just how much of nature’s beauty and variety are missed by casual observation.
Roti Roti has been involved in nature photography for about five years. His work has been on exhibit at the Buchanan Art Center and is currently on display at Washington University in St. Louis. Joe and his wife are co-stewards of a Michigan Nature Association conservation site in Berrien County, which is home to an endangered butterfly.
He is a recently retired radiation biologist still involved in the teaching of radiation oncology residents and currently professor emeritus, department of radiation oncology at Washington University, St. Louis. Before retirement, Roti Roti was professor and director of the radiation and cancer biology division, department of radiation oncology, at Washington University. Roti Roti holds a bachelor of science degree in physics from Michigan Technological University at Houghton, Mich.; a Ph.D in biophysics from University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.; and post-doctorate training in biochemistry at the University of Florida.
He grew up in Buchanan, and he and his wife currently reside in Highland, Ill.
The gallery is located in the library’s rotunda. Exhibitions can be viewed during library hours: Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.