AWARD winning Bonbeach photographer, videographer, and storyteller Lucy Di Paolo is almost a regular on the dusty tracks of remote New South Wales opal mining town Lightning Ridge.
Di Paolo’s keen interest in the off-the-beaten track is personal; she is inspired by her late mother’s passion for the black opal, a treasure not easily yielded by the ancient rocks and crannies in this far-flung settlement.
“I embarked on a personal journey to discover why the black opal lured my mother, just as it does so many others to abandon the security and comforts of mainstream society for life in this harsh remote mining town called Lightning Ridge,” she said.
Di Paolo has been back to Lighting Ridge many times, and says her intrepid travels in the harsh environment have given birth to new friendships, personal discoveries of inner strength and fortitude, and a cathartic outpouring of creativity in her book and documentary Fragile Black Heart, which premiered on SBS on Sunday 23 June.
For information go to fragileblackheart.com
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 26th June 2024