Betty Nettis Bennett was my mentor, my adopted mother, and my precious friend. This photo was taken in her darkroom at M.S.I.A. in Los Angeles, where we spent so many hours working together. I met Betty in 1978 soon after I arrived in Hollywood, and soon after she took me on as her protogee. She taught me how to process film, how to print according to Time/Life standards (where she learned her craft in NYC) and how to be a Master B&W printer. She also taught me how to cook a chicken, make a fruit cake, and brew a strong cup of coffee!

I love this photo more than any of the formal portraits of Betty, because not only does it capture her spirit, her beauty and her talent but it is the only photo ever taken inside what I consider to be 'sacred space.' It is here in this cool 'cave' of a darkroom, located in the basement of PRANA Theological Seminary, 3500 West Adams Blvd, in LA, where I apprenticed with Betty, doing marathon processing and printing sessions, with the pulse of jazz music and the smell of incense permeating the air, and masking the smell of the chemicals.

Betty Bennett passed away after a short battle with liver cancer in 1996. My own mother died two weeks later. Their memorial services were held the same day. Betty's in Los Angeles; my mother's in Philadelphia, where Betty and I grew up.