light & vision

The nominees were announced for the American Society of Cinematographers this week. I have become much more invested in Best Cinematography awards over the years. Last year I was torn between Robert Elswit for "There Will Be Blood" and Roger Deakins for "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." The year before I fell hard for Emmanuel Lubzeki's work for "Children of Men", only to watch him lose the Oscar to the relatively deserving Guillermo Navarro for "Pan's Labyrinth." I could go on, but I'm generally ambivalent about the nominees this year. However, Steven Soderbergh's tireless work for "Che", Harris Savides's beautiful composition in an awkward and telling moment between Sean Penn and a drunk Josh Brolin in "Milk", the breathtaking grandiosity of Wally Pfister's work in "The Dark Knight", and the technical grace of Claudio Miranda for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" were all impressive. Here's a look at this year's nominees:
Roger Deakins, "Revolutionary Road"

Wally Pfister, "The Dark Knight"

Roger Deakins & Chris Menges, "The Reader"

Claudio Miranda, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Anthony Dod Mantle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Any notable snubs?