Vote For My Photos

I'm promoting myself in this post. I entered my photos in a contest. You can vote for them this week and I'd really appreciate it if you did that. It's easy to do too! 

Click here. 

Below the big ad, click the "Gallery" tab. 

Three fields should appear/be visible. In the username field, which is located to the right next to the red "FILTER" button, type "@bperica". 

Click "FILTER."

All my photos will appear. There are ten of them.

Then click on the star in the middle, bottom of each picture. If I win, I promise I'll bring you back a souvenir or send you a postcard. 

Thanks.

Film - Chasing Ice

What scares me the most about global warming is the thought that we have reached the point of no return. The Greenland ice sheet is going to melt and sea level will rise 2-3 feet over the next 50 or 100 years. I also worry that there are not enough viable alternatives to reduce our individual carbon footprint. The powerful film Chasing Ice, which documents the National Geographic photographer James Balog’s Extreme Ice Survey (EIS), only magnified these thoughts.

For EIS to succeed, Balog needed to place dozens of cameras in strategic locations so that they could monitor ice levels at critical glacial landmarks throughout the world. Every six months or so he would return with his team and examine the photographs, taken at preset intervals, to study the changes. The film documents Balog’s return to these locations and, upon his first trip back after six months, the camera catches a heartbreaking moment when Balog discovers that the computer used to time the pictures was not working correctly with the cameras. That held true for every camera the team set up. Nat Geo and Balog went back to the drawing board and redesigned the chips used to time the shots. The updated cameras were put back in place and the wait started again.

Of course there would not be a Chasing Ice movie if the cameras did not record something remarkable and scary. The change in ice level in six months is extremely worrisome. But these cameras did not just record six months of change. They have now been in place for years and are still recording the retreat of some of the biggest and most important glaciers in the world.

The film is at its most powerful when these images are displayed across the screen, but there are appropriate interludes filled with staggering facts and brief clips from global warming skeptics, almost all of which were taken from Fox News because they are the prominent climate change deniers. Thankfully, the film does not spend too much time addressing the deniers. It uses Balog’s images to do the talking. Although one of the most poignant scenes in the movie is when Balog is talking about the danger climate change presents to the human race. “You go out over the horizon,” he says, “and sometimes you don’t come back.” At this he gets choked up, pauses, and looks off into the distance. At this point in the documentary, if you are not concerned about returning from the horizon, Chasing Ice has not done its job and no other movie will.

A Man's Man

This weekend my entire family will be traveling to Fort Collins, Colorado to celebrate the life of my grandfather, Bryce Howard Neff. I was extremely close to him and I am honored to have the opportunity to speak at his memorial. I will share those words here on the blog after this weekend. For now, I will just say that I have always loved my name, not just because it is relatively uncommon, but because I am named after such a great, strong, capable man. He was a patriot, Air Force Captain, father, esquire, grandfather, great grandfather, a friend to countless people, an amazing storyteller, and a devoted and loving husband over nearly sixty-two years of marriage. Godspeed, Grandpa.

This is a picture of my grandpa (at right) when he was stationed at Iwakuni, Japan in 1950 and 1951 during the Korean War.

Best of 2012

Best Vacation: Kauai was amazing, but Scotland and my favorite city in all the world with my wife…nothing can compete.

My favorite blog I wrote: This one, about Michael Phelps after the London 2012 games.

Best Meal: There were two and they happened at the same restaurant two nights in a row, The Lovat Brasserie in Fort Augustus, Scotland. Seriously, everything we bit into was mouth-rockingly wonderful. This place should not be missed if you’re in the Highlands.

Best Live Sporting Event: Front row at the Broncos vs. Browns game on December 23.

Best Televised Sporting Event: Michael Phelps' last show at this summer's Olympic games in London.

Best Bachelor Party: Sir Travis’ party in Boulder. Whiskey. Bikes. Mountain Sun. Pearl St. 3am bike ride back to north Boulder up some pretty steep hills.

Best Graduate Class: Tie….Great Books of the Middle East and Modern Islamic Political Thought. If it’s any consolation, the same professor taught them.

Best Photograph We Took: Kate probably disagrees, but I really love this one from Kauai. It's imperfect, but that's sort of what I like about it in addition to the stunning beauty of that wave and the memory I have of standing in ankle deep, frothy sea water while watching these waves roll in.

Best Drive: From Ft Augustus, Scotland to Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland. I wanted to pull over every half mile to take more pictures.

Best Picture of Kate and I: This one taken by Jarrod Renaud.

Best Gift: One I gave.

Best Pet: Monte, my parents’ 16-yr-old cat, for being a trooper while she lived with us for 2.5 weeks when my parents were in Italy.

Best Thing To Do When The Wife Is Out Of Town: Invite over all your video-gaming friends for an all-day gaming bonanza with beers and bloody Marys.

Best Beer: Nothing new, but a beer I grew to love throughout this year, a beer that has easily become one of my favorites. Odell’s IPA.

Best Concert: Bon Iver at Red Rocks. This is easily the best concert I’ve seen since I was in high school and saw MxPx for the first time at the Ogden. The free Lumineers concert at DU was a very close second.

Best Laugh: With Guy Ferber in Las Vegas.

Best Sunset from 4550, our home: This October beauty.

Best Musical Discovery: M83 and the Lumineers.

Best Social Platform: Instagram.

Best Timing for a Photograph: This one by Kate. I didn't even say try to get one of me in the air and then she goes and snaps this perfectly framed and timed shot. Okay.

Best Coffee: Boxcar Coffee in Boulder. This place got me to like a cappuccino.

Pictures of the Year

Over at the Big Picture, they are starting their annual posts with their selected pictures of the year. I encourage you to take a look. These pictures cover a wide range of international events, from celebrations to disasters. I value their international perspective at this photo blog. 

Part I

Part II

They usually do three parts, but only two are up at this point. 

There is also Time's selection of the most surprising photos of the year. These are amazing as well, although there are some repeats from the Big Picture's posts. Also, unlike the Big Picture, Time doesn't warn you when you are about to see a graphic picture of (just one example here) a horse head and hoofs on the ground by some kids because the horse was just slaughtered for food. 

Time's gallery.

Making Fun of Instagrammers

CollegeHumor made a music video making fun of Instagrammers and their pretty horrible pictures. Disclaimer, I use Instagram and I've definitely shared a shot of a sunset or two, but for the most part, I think CollegeHumor gets it right with this video. Most of Instagram shots are crap or depressingly narcissistic. Follow the link below and watch the video.

Making fun of Instagrammers.

Fighting Resistance

A great friend and amazing photographer, family man, and God-lover, Jarrod Renaud, was interviewed by The Photographic Journal. Read his story. It's inspiring. 

The interview, click here.

Chasm Lake and Longs Peak

I hiked to Chasm Lake on Friday. I had been there before, but not since 2003. Going back was a blast because last time I was there I was in charge of 10 campers, ages 10-12, and that slowed things down just a bit. This time I made it up in an hour and 25 minutes, stayed for about thirty minutes, took some photos, had a lunch, and ran down in about 45 minutes. It was a much different experience. I am blessed to have a place like this in my backyard.

Chasm Lake water. Clear and cold.

Chasm Lake and Longs Peak.

Turned south facing part of Mount Meeker.

Pastimes

A sweet little video of my friend, artist and photographer, Jarrod Renaud, catching some air. Check him out.

Behold

Surfing at Teahupoo, from Chris Bryan films. Amazing! There's a mighty God behind those waves.

Na Pali Coast

I am not a huge fan of hyperbole, but sometimes it just works. To say that the Na Pali coast is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen is very accurate. I have never seen a coast so beautiful and while I enjoy the mountain scenery in Colorado it doesn't compare to this place. We took a three-hour cruise along the coast one afternoon and it was the best use of our time while on Kauai. The Nikon's shutter got a great workout. The drinks were flowing and the company was excellent. I was so happy that I think I was walking around the boat with a permanent smile. I am sure I looked very stupid. The Na Pali coast alone is worth going to Kauai, which has much more than this, but this very well could have been the highlight of the whole week for me. I can tell you it wasn't the most memorable moment. That came later in the week when I didn't really expect it and hopefully I can sit down and actually write well to tell that story. Obviously, that time is not now, but enjoy the pictures.

This picture was taken shortly after we left Port Allen, from where most Na Pali cruises leave.

Well into our cruise, I spotted this solo kayaker with a fishing rod and an umbrella for a sail. One would not want to kayak the Na Pali solo if one wasn't extremely familiar with the coast and currents. This guy struck me as a local.

The Na Pali shoots out of the water and the green on its cliffs is brilliant.

There are a series of small beaches, most of them accessible from the Kalalau trail, an 11-mile (one way) trail that you need a permit to hike. We only hiked the first two miles, but we both said we would love to go back and do the entire thing. 

The Na Pali coast has been featured in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. The most famous valley along the coast was featured in Jurassic Park as the helicopter first approaches the island.

The most impressive section of the Na Pali coast. The thinness of these mountains seemed impossible. 

Oh yeah, the boat we were on had 900hp, so when the captain wanted to go somewhere quickly the ocean flew everywhere and filled some pictures with a cool spray.

The mountains here reach heights of 4000+ feet. 

In some spots, the captain was able to take the catamaran in very close to the rocks, even under them in two locations. 

Another crazy formation, which has had to appear in several movies. Just a guess.

An awesome picture of my beautiful wife as the boat maneuvered underneath the cliffs pictured below. When we were under the rocks we could actually see the swirls of the lava frozen in time right over the boat.

I wonder if anyone has jumped off that....

Cloud cover along the Na Pali coast is notorious. The highest point on Kauai, Mount Waialeale, is almost always shrouded in clouds. This makes sense since it is the wettest or one of the wettest spots on Earth, receiving 450 to 600 inches of rain a year.

I'm pretty sure this beach is accessible from the trail, but I didn't see a soul.

There are so many of these valleys that just explode with color and amazing cliff formations.

Un-freaking-believable.

Kauai Beaches

 Hanalei Bay, the beach featured in much of The Descendants, is one of the biggest attractions on the north shore of Kauai. The waves were perfect this time of year for beginner surfers. We happened to have boogie boards this day and we loved the afternoon we spent here. The rain came and went. The water was perfect. And the waves were just right except I would have preferred a little more size to them.

This is definitely one of my favorites from the entire trip. It stands out among the roughly 710 photos I have left after deleting roughly 275 pictures. At Haena Beach Park.

At Hanakapiai Beach along the Kalalau Trail.

The Maha'ulepa coast. I have a ton of pictures from this area that I'll make a separate post for.

This was the beach right in front of our hotel (the Koa Kea). 

More Waves

Both of these pictures were taken near Tunnels Beach on the north shore of Kauai. The waves were impressive here, but also not waves you want to get involved with (at least not in the winter months). There was no one in the water here. Not good enough for locals (they surf out on the reef anyway) and way too dangerous for tourists, which made for another opportunity to soak in the beauty and fire up the camera.

I Am In Love

Kauai was better than I could have imagined. We felt like we saw a lot, but we also relaxed quite a bit. There is definitely enough action on Kauai to stay for a couple weeks. I guess we'll just have to go back. I went crazy with the camera (989 photos). I found myself taking a lot of snaps of waves because the sight of them and their power has always mesmerized me and the north shore of Kauai didn't disappoint. These weren't even big waves, but they were still massive in power and full of beauty. They were also big enough to keep me out of the water at this beach. More pictures to come...

Another Reason I Love The Prime

Kate on New Year's Eve, 2011. Larimer Square. Denver.

Merry Christmas Eve!

A few pictures from our trip to the Denver Botanic Gardens to see the lights last night. These shots are all big reasons we bought a lens with an aperture of f/1.4. All these shots are hand held. We really love this lens. 

Speechless

An amazing picture from 9/11 that I hadn't seen.

The Answer's In The Frosting

We went to San Diego for a mini vacation and to spend some time visiting the growing family out there. There was a baby shower held for Megan and number three while we were visiting. It was called a "What's it going to 'bee' shower." Yes it was bee themed. Lots of black and yellow. Everyone at the shower, including Megan and Colton, didn't know the sex of the baby, except for a few people who made the delicious cupcakes we had that day. These people knew the sex of the baby and their mission was to put blue frosting in the middle of the cupcake if it was a boy and pink frosting if it was a girl. Thus, the main event at the shower was when we all circled up and watched the parents bite into their cupcakes to see if the frosting was pink or blue. It was a pretty cool idea and a blast to watch. And, when your churning out kids like this couple does, it was a good spin to put on another baby shower. Here are some pics from the weekend.

Nathan at the beach. Just shy of 16 months. Warning, this guy could probably beat up your 3-year-old.

Megan and Nathan at Carlsbad.

Kate and Brooklyn braving the still frigid Pacific.

I was trying to get a good shot of them kissing, but looks more like Meg kissing Nate and Nate smashing his face against her face. Other than this photo, Nate poses very well for pictures.

About to head down to the water once more.

Having lunch at Las Olas, one of our favorites in Carlsbad.

This is the moment, the moment M and C saw pink frosting. They are having another girl. Nearly everyone there either thought it was going to be a boy or they were pulling for a boy. Me, I thought it would be a boy. And yes, Megan is wearing bee wings.

Nate at the splash park. Water shoots up from the ground at random intervals. Kids entertained for hours. Parents rest in the shade. Fun for all.

More splash park fun.

Brooklyn running through the water.