I met Julia as a student in one of her classes more than a decade ago. From that evolved a our collaboration on several charity projects and most importantly a dear friendship. Having started myself with black and white photojournalism photography some 50 years ago (and quickly abandoned for other pursuits), I was instantly captivated by the simple beauty of her work. A simple rangefinder camera, rolls of B&W film and a lifetime in the soup and paper of the magical darkroom grounds her work in that lost era. What is so captivating about her images are their stark honesty, an opportunity for second sight of the world she sees, free of any agendas, affectations are allegiance to fashion. To know her work is to know her, they are one and the same, and it is that unfettered fusion of self and world that gives her images such devastating impact and clarity. And she gives us that vision not just through he images, but even more importantly through her immeasurable contribution as an educator and a cultural mediator of the art of photography and the culture of Los Angeles. The Julia Dean Photo Workshops literally opened the photo cultural doors of our city to the everyman and as a result so many thousands of people have had their lives enriched by this field we both love so dearly.