Started in the business as a clapper boy in the 1930s, then spent a long apprenticeship as assistant cameraman and camera operator. Graduated to director of photography in the late 50s and became noted for his creativeness on a variety of different types of film, from the stark realism of 'Tunes of Glory' (1960) to the colourful pageantry of 'Anne of the Thousand Days' (1969) for which he received an Academy Award nomination.