Beets Blu heart rate monitor review, and recent London photos

I was recently contacted by Beets Blu to ask if I would be interested in reviewing their heart rate monitor. I don't usually use a heart rate monitor as I find them a bit uncomfortable, and often they don't consistently measure my heart rate (it is annoying, mid-run, to be beeped at by my watch because my heart rate has purportedly stopped). However, I am always keen to find better alternatives to the rather old Polar strap I own.

Beets Blu heart rate monitor and pager tag

I know not all of you are interested in heart rate monitors, and because I don't share as many photos now my photo-a-day project is finished, I am interspersing my review with some recent Spring images in and around London.

Embankment gardens

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Farewell 2014 - reflections on the year and my final photo-a-day images

Oh, 2014. You have been a memorable year. A year of excitement, adventure, change, challenge and reward. A year, in short, of living life to the full. I started it in the city I grew up in, working with people I'd known for years, and filling weekends with familiar sights and people. I am ending it in a new country, with a new job that was not known 12 months ago, learning new cultural references and visiting new places.

As with all years (all things), there have been downs as well as ups, but I wouldn't change a thing.

2014 in pictures - 365 of them

As with previous years, I set some goals for 2014. I like looking back at this time of year and considering how my intentions panned out. The eight I had for 2014 were...

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365 project: November photos

This will be my second last photo set for 2014, and December marks the closing stages of my 365 project. Truthfully, I think I will be glad to bring the project to a close - my focus on careful and creative photos has faded and I am becoming lazier again with snapping shots for the sake of them! Nonetheless, I am still enjoying a greater focus on photography and this month has brought new challenges with shorter daylight hours and gloomier skies.

I think my favourites this month are numbers 5, 8, 14, 25 and 28...the last image (outdoor ice skating at Canary Wharf) because it sums up a Christmassy London so well.

1st: London at dusk (#1) / 2nd: London at dusk (#2) / 3rd: London at dusk (#3) / 4th: London at night (#1) / 5th: London at night (#2) 

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365 project: October photos

It has just dawned on me that my photo a day challenge is close to being done. I appreciate that two months is still a reasonable amount of time to cover, but after taking 293 photos, I can see myself managing the remaining 61.

Of course, this is largely due to my flexible approach to a photo a day. Increasingly, 7 photos a week is my approach and that is reflected in some of the photo sets for October. Photos 16 to 20 were taken on our recent visit to the Tower of London, the first 'big' tourist attraction we have visited. Now that summer is over and there are fewer tourists around, we are able to start working through our list of more notable 'To See' places. The Tower was fantastic, and we spent over 4 hours touring the various buildings and walking the grounds. The moat filled with poppies, part of WWII commemorations, was amazing too. As an additional bonus, we narrowly missed seeing the Queen!

Another recent outing is featured in photos 21 to 25, taken at Knole Park in Kent. The grounds include Knole House, which we didn't visit on this occasion, and a deer park, which is home to around 400 deer that roam as they wish. Deer aren't something we have in Australia, so I was besotted with every animal we saw and wanted to photograph all of them.

Throughout the photos, you will also see evidence of my love of autumn colours and leaves. At the moment, I don't think a day goes past without me taking joy from trees or fallen leaves or both. It is a beautiful time of year.

1st: Rainbow chard / 2nd: Kent walking / 3rd: Kent sunshine / 4th: Tonbridge castle / 5th: Tonbridge views 

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365 project: August and September photos

This is a jam packed photo post! With Vegan MoFo last month, I am only sharing my photo-a-day images from August now, along with my September's photos. In the mix are sunny skies and early autumnal colours, a marker of the weather shifts seen over the last 8 weeks. It is still mild and mostly sunny in London, but the days are shortening, leaves are changing colour, and there is a crisp note in the air most mornings. I'm delighted: I love autumn, and autumn in England is entirely new to me. All of my past UK visits have been in summer or winter, so this time of year is novel and exciting.

My August photos seem a long time ago now, and include an unexpected number of flowers! I particularly love those in #6, as they were given to me my sister and her boyfriend on their visit. The cycling hedge man in  #8 is another favourite.

1st: Reflecting / 2nd: Confident bird / 3rd: Flower markets / 4th: Canal side / 5th: Before I die...

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365 project: July photos

I think I say something similar every other month, but how is it August? Not only are we more than half way through the year, but it is nearly 2 months since we left Australia for the UK. I think I'll be remembering 2014 as the year that flew by, even more than usual.

With another month behind us, I do have another set of photographs to share. As always, there is a little overlap with images shared elsewhere, but hopefully enough new content to provide interest too.

I think my favourite images this month are days 8, 29 and 31. I also love the planting featured in day 28.

1st: Measuring post / 2nd: Queen Alexandra / 3rd: Literary bench / 4th: Spirals / 5th: Under the Thames

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365 project: June photos

It is quite odd looking back at my photography for June. There is a clear transition, mid-month, from Australian scenes to British ones. It is hard to believe that 4 weeks ago I was still walking my Australian suburb. It seems a long time ago, and a long way away.

The start of June has two more street art photos, continuing a theme prompted by Johanna and seen in my May photography. I have yet to see much street art in London, which suggests I'm either not paying attention or I haven't explored very widely (I am quite certain it is out there!).

There is a little bit of overlap between the photos in this collection and those in my recent London posts. I apologise for the double up, and hope you can find some new images to draw you in...

1st: Local robot / 2nd: Busy mind / 3rd: University architecture / 4th: Glow man / 5th: Birthday 

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365 project: May photos

I found May an easier month for photography than April. Adopting my flexible approach to photo captures (7 per week, not necessarily 1 per day) helped, as did following Johanna's posts on Melbourne street art on Green Gourmet Giraffe. You will see a few street art scenes in my own photo selection this month! You may spot an autumn theme throughout too.

Day 29 - one of my favourites from May

My favourite photos this month are actually quite recent ones. I took some early morning photos (#29 and 30) that I love, and experimented with a glowing balloon (#26 to 28) which was very fun indeed. I enjoyed looking back at the earlier photos too though, as they reminded me what I was up to a few weeks ago. It's amazing how quickly memory can fade...

Here is my May in photos.

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365 project: April photos

Another new month, and another photo recap. With a third of the year behind us (!), it seems possible now to imagine this project through to its end. As with March, April's photos were not all taken on the day allocated to them, which is really helping with the practicalities of the project.

One of my favourite images this month was #20, capturing a streak across the sky from a recent plane. I took the photo using the panoramic setting on my camera, and as a consequence, it doesn't really fit in the collage images below. To do it justice, I am posting it in its own right here too!

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365 project: March photos

With April upon us (and upon us for nearly a week now!), it's time for another photo recap, this time for my March photo-a-day snapshots.

March was the first month when daily photography became challenging, which I think is a combination of time passing (months 1 and 2 were always going to be easier than the rest of the year!) and time seeming in short supply in March. I expected that going away would help, and it did, but it also meant that home and work were correspondingly busier around the trip.

Given the above, my March photos were not all taken on the day I have allocated them to. Some days I took several photos I liked, and I have taken the flexible approach of spreading them out over consecutive days if needed.

Here are the 31 resulting images...

1st: Lazy days / 2nd: Edible summer / 3rd: Peek a boo / 4th: Convent by night / 5th: Bird (#1)

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365 project: January photos

With January over, I'm one month into my photo a day project for 2014. Taking a (non-food) photo a day has, to date, been both easier and harder than I expected. The easy part? If I throw my camera into my bag, there are many opportunities each day to capture an image that is interesting or picturesque. The hard part? There are 11 months left of 2014 and that leaves a lot of photos ahead of me. It's a little daunting to realise that I have taken just 31 of 365 potential photos! Fortunately, I have approached this goal with a healthy dose of realism and if I miss a day, or a week, or even a month...it won't matter. 

For now, here are the first 31 images. Welcome to my January in photos!

1st: Scarborough beach cycle path / 2nd: Busy bee / 3rd: Car wash whirl wind / 4th: Missing puzzle piece / 5th: Dry creek

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