Caitlin O’Toole. Auckland, NZ.
I love bringing to life a story or a feeling or an emotion through photography. Blending that with
design is how I make my work - I’ve got so many things that I want to do I just want to mix it all together! Photography is one of the big ways I express my thoughts and my creativity.
I grew up in Tauranga with an amazing group of people but when I moved to Auckland, I was finally able to embrace myself. I’m at a point where I’m just me and if someone doesn’t like it they don’t have to like I’m not asking everyone to be my best friend or my biggest
supporter.
I spent a lot of time in my younger years just putting off things that I really loved in order to fit in with the crowd and as I’ve gotten older I’ve realised that my passions are the most important things and they make me the happiest.
I’m not a person who cries a lot, I can be quite stoic with my emotions and detached from situations, but there have been times when I was alone and just start bawling my eyes out because I had all these emotions inside me that I hadn’t expressed. I know that’s not
necessarily the right way to deal with something but that’s a journey in itself I think.The year I’ve had has heaped on a lot of mental health challenges for me, but I’ve definitely felt a lot of power with just being real and honest with myself. Especially as I’ve gotten older and
realised more things.
In the past year I lost three very close family members. I lost my two grandmas and my dad. It’s quite funny because last year at university I was not doing too well and since I’ve had all this happen to me I’ve found a lot of strength through it.
I didn’t have a strong relationship with my dad growing up but I remember my last conversation with him, it's a really nice memory.