diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0020f642..fae389be 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -829,6 +829,23 @@ photosdb.db_version
 
 Returns the version number for Photos library database.  You likely won't need this but it's provided in case needed for debugging. PhotosDB will print a warning to `sys.stderr` if you open a database version that has not been tested. 
 
+#### `get_db_connection()`
+Returns tuple of (connection, cursor) for the working copy of the Photos database.  This is useful for debugging or prototyping new features.
+
+```python
+photosdb = osxphotos.PhotosDB()
+conn, cursor = photosdb.get_db_connection()
+
+results = conn.execute(
+        "SELECT ZUUID FROM ZGENERICASSET WHERE ZFAVORITE = 1;"
+).fetchall()
+
+for row in results:
+    # do something
+    pass
+
+conn.close()
+```
 
 #### ` photos(keywords=None, uuid=None, persons=None, albums=None, images=True, movies=False, from_date=None, to_date=None)`
 
diff --git a/osxphotos/_version.py b/osxphotos/_version.py
index 38364642..6cc31831 100644
--- a/osxphotos/_version.py
+++ b/osxphotos/_version.py
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 """ version info """
 
-__version__ = "0.29.19"
+__version__ = "0.29.20"
diff --git a/osxphotos/photosdb/photosdb.py b/osxphotos/photosdb/photosdb.py
index 0041eb29..789ff656 100644
--- a/osxphotos/photosdb/photosdb.py
+++ b/osxphotos/photosdb/photosdb.py
@@ -46,8 +46,6 @@ from ..utils import (
 
 
 # TODO: Add test for imageTimeZoneOffsetSeconds = None
-# TODO: Fix command line so multiple --keyword, etc. are AND (instead of OR as they are in .photos())
-#       Or fix the help text to match behavior
 # TODO: Add test for __str__
 # TODO: Add special albums and magic albums
 
@@ -255,7 +253,7 @@ class PhotosDB:
         if _db_is_locked(self._dbfile):
             self._tmp_db = self._copy_db_file(self._dbfile)
 
-        self._db_version = self._get_db_version()
+        self._db_version = self._get_db_version(self._tmp_db)
 
         # If Photos >= 5, actual data isn't in photos.db but in Photos.sqlite
         if int(self._db_version) > int(_PHOTOS_4_VERSION):
@@ -493,6 +491,14 @@ class PhotosDB:
         """ returns path to the Photos library PhotosDB was initialized with """
         return self._library_path
 
+    def get_db_connection(self):
+        """ Get connection to the working copy of the Photos database 
+
+        Returns:
+            tuple of (connection, cursor) to sqlite3 database
+        """
+        return _open_sql_file(self._tmp_db)
+
     def _copy_db_file(self, fname):
         """ copies the sqlite database file to a temp file """
         """ returns the name of the temp file """
@@ -517,12 +523,18 @@ class PhotosDB:
 
         return dest_path
 
-    def _get_db_version(self):
-        """ gets the Photos DB version from LiGlobals table """
-        """ returns the version as str"""
+    def _get_db_version(self, db_file):
+        """ Gets the Photos DB version from LiGlobals table
+
+        Args:
+            db_file: path to database file containing LiGlobals table
+
+        Returns: version as str
+        """
+
         version = None
 
-        (conn, c) = _open_sql_file(self._tmp_db)
+        (conn, c) = _open_sql_file(db_file)
 
         # get database version
         c.execute(
diff --git a/tests/test_catalina_10_15_5.py b/tests/test_catalina_10_15_5.py
index 0efc3cdf..d31350f5 100644
--- a/tests/test_catalina_10_15_5.py
+++ b/tests/test_catalina_10_15_5.py
@@ -439,6 +439,26 @@ def test_get_library_path():
     assert lib_path.endswith(PHOTOS_LIBRARY_PATH)
 
 
+def test_get_db_connection():
+    """ Test PhotosDB.get_db_connection """
+    import osxphotos
+    import sqlite3
+
+    photosdb = osxphotos.PhotosDB(dbfile=PHOTOS_DB)
+    conn, cursor = photosdb.get_db_connection()
+
+    assert isinstance(conn, sqlite3.Connection)
+    assert isinstance(cursor, sqlite3.Cursor)
+
+    results = conn.execute(
+        "SELECT ZUUID FROM ZGENERICASSET WHERE ZFAVORITE = 1;"
+    ).fetchall()
+    assert len(results) == 1
+    assert results[0][0] == "E9BC5C36-7CD1-40A1-A72B-8B8FAC227D51"  # uuid
+
+    conn.close()
+
+
 def test_export_1():
     # test basic export
     # get an unedited image and export it using default filename