Bernie Abramson Bernard " Bernie " Abramson was an American photographer and cinematographer who was the Second Unit Director of Photography on . He did not receive on - screen credit for his work . Abramson was born in Los Angeles , California , and began studying photography in junior high school . In 1942 , he joined the United States Navy as an aerial cameraman . He received a number of decorations for his photographs after they assisted the Navy in destroying hundreds of Japanese ships and aircraft . In 1945 , Abramson ' s plane was shot down and he spent two and a half days in the ocean before being rescued . After World War II ended , Abramson became a photographer in the motion picture industry . He served as a still photographer on many films over the years , one of which was the original " Ocean ' s Eleven " ( 1960 ) . While working on this film , Abramson became a favorite of the film ' s stars ( collectively known as the ) and was subsequently invited to attend and photograph their private functions . Another film Abramson worked on was the 1961 musical " West Side Story " , which was co - directed by Robert Wise , who later directed " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " . Later , Abramson worked on the little - known 1966 film " Deathwatch " which , like " Star Trek : The Motion Picture " , co - starred Leonard Nimoy . This film also featured guest actor Michael Forest and actor and TNG guest star Robert Ellenstein . Among the other films on which Abramson served as still photographer were " Some Like It Hot " ( 1959 , co - starring Nehemiah Persoff ) , " Cleopatra " ( 1963 , featuring John Hoyt ) , " The War Wagon " ( 1967 , featuring Robert Walker ) , " In Cold Blood " ( 1967 , co - starring Jeff Corey and John McLiam ) , " The Wild Bunch " ( 1969 , with music by Jerry Fielding ) , " Which Way to the Front ? " ( 1970 , featuring George Takei ) , the Academy Award - nominated " Five Easy Pieces " ( 1970 ) , and " Dirty Harry " ( 1971 , co - starring Jeffrey Combs ) . He even ventured into science fiction productions with the 1971 productions " THX 1138 " ( featuring Sid Haig and Ian Wolfe and " The Omega Man " ( starring Anthony Zerbe ) . In 1972 , Abramson gave up still photography and became a cinematographer . He was a Director of Photography on " Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids " during the show ' s early years , after which he directed photography on such films as " Pony Express Rider " ( 1975 ) , " Mickey and Nicky " ( 1976 ) , " Biker ' s Hawk " ( 1976 ) , and the 1977 made - for - TV movie " It Happened at Lakewood Manor " , which was directed by Robert Scheerer and starred Robert Foxworth . ( Bernie Casey and Bruce French also had roles in the movie . ) He also directed second unit photography for a number of films besides " Star Trek " , including " McQ " ( 1974 , starring Diana Muldaur ) and " All the President ' s Men " ( 1976 , featuring Stephen Collins , F . Murray Abraham , Nicolas Coster , Gene Dynarski , Richard Herd , and Paul Lambert ) . Later in his career , Abramson was a cinematographer on the 1988 mini - series " War and Remembrance " and on such films as " Ghost Rock " ( 2004 ) , which co - starred Adrienne Barbeau and Craig Wasson . Abramson died in California on 14 August 2010 , at the age of 86 .