Caversham photographer who loves to capture poetry in motion

A PHOTOGRAPHER has been recognised for her work with pets and wildlife.

Louise Farrell, from Caversham, won a national title at this year’s UK Photography Print Awards with a second image placed in the top three.

This picture was of a gosling, taken at Bushy Park in London.

Ms Farrell said: “I was watching a mother goose with her goslings. I was on the floor, in the mud, waiting and when the mother raised her wings slightly, one by one each gosling laid down underneath to have a snooze.

“When I found out I was in the top three for the awards, I cried. It was a complete shock.

“But it was so lovely, because I am so passionate about my photography, and to be recognised it for my peers and other professionals was absolutely amazing.”

Ms Farrell specialises in action photography, capturing dogs, horses and other animals in motion to create dynamic, personality-led artwork.

She also achieved international success last year with The Guild of Photographers, winning Image of the Year for Birds, and also the Founder’s Cup award for pet photography, which was of dogs running along a beach.

Ms Farrell, who is originally from Coventry, moved to Caversham about 25 years ago. She runs an HR Consultancy and a dog photography business, Tell Tails, which she set up in 2015.

She said: “I moved to Caversham to get married but, after we broke up, I stayed here because it’s just such a lovely community. You’re so close to Reading yet Caversham has that village feel.”

Ms Farrell studied a City and Guilds course in photography during the Nineties when she was living in Horsham but had to leave her studies when her mother fell ill. Then, when she adopted her first Border Collie, Bo, in 2010, he became her “muse”.

She said: “I began photographing Bo and then, when I’d had him for about five years, my friends asked me to photograph their dogs and it grew from there.

“Bo was the reason I started this. It was him that said to me, ‘Go on Mum, go and take some photographs of someone else’.

“I photograph horses, cats, dogs, anything with four hairy legs, for my business. But wildlife photography is my passion, it’s what I do for mindfulness. I go and sit in the fields for hours on end and just wait. Sometimes you see something, sometimes you don’t but it’s always a success.

“You just have to be very patient with wildlife photography. Less so with action dog photography, that’s completely different.”

Bo passed away in 2015, aged 15, but Ms Farrell currently has rescue border collies, Jake, adopted in 2016, and Indi, rescued in 2023, who are her new “muses”.

Ms Farrell volunteers with the Diana Brimblecombe Animal Rescue Centre in Reading, which is where she adopted Indi, and she currently takes photographs of the dogs that need rehoming.

She said: “The best way to improve your photography is to keep practicing and to join a society where you can get feedback on your images and constructive criticism. Feedback I have had in the past has been straightforward and no one holds back, so you can’t have a thin skin.

“It’s always important to accept critiques, learn from them and know that they can only help you to improve.”

Ms Farrell said she continues to enter national and international photography competitions in the future and focus more on her photography business as she feels she “lost her mojo” recently.

She said: “I think most photographers have imposter syndrome. I had imposter syndrome, big time and winning these awards has given me a bit of confidence to get back on the horse, so to speak, she who takes pictures of horses.

“I want to focus on my photography and get back to building my ability. That is my most important future project.”