It was a pretty stellar year once again for cinematography and I don't envy the members of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) their duty of narrowing it down to the top tier. Last year they didn't even bother narrowing – they settled on a whopping seven nominees. Why not? The more the merrier when the work is this good.

No such luck this year, however, as we're back to five. And I must say, with two excellent pieces of work this year, I'm super bummed that Robert Elswit didn't make this list. I would have liked to see Bradford Young get the love, too, but I have no doubt he'll get his laurels in due time.

“Birdman,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “The Imitation Game” remain strong as the only films so far to pick up nods from all guilds (we'll see how that shifts throughout the day). “The Imitation Game” showing up here in particular should give an indication of how well-liked that movie is. “Mr. Turner” and “Unbroken” from legends and real-life buds Dick Pope and Roger Deakins respectively also unsurprisingly joined the mix.

But this is Chivo's to lose, right? For the second year in a row, it really seems like Emmanuel Lubezki is cruizing to both the ASC prize and the Oscar for the dynamic work in “Birdman.”

Check out the full list of nominees below and the rest of the whirlwind at The Circuit.

“Birdman” (Emmanuel Lubezki)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Robert D. Yeoman)
“The Imitation Game” (Óscar Faura)
“Mr. Turner” (Dick Pope)
“Unbroken” (Roger Deakins)

Previously announced, television nominees are:

Episode of a Regular Series
“Viking” – “Blood Eagle” (P.J. Dillon)
“Boardwalk Empire” – “Golden Days for Boys and Girls” (Jonathan Freeman)
“Game of Thrones” – “The Children” (Anette Haellmigk)
“Gotham” – “Spirit of the Goat” (Christopher Norr)
“Manhattan” – “Perestroika” (Richard Rutkowski)
“Game of Thrones” – “Mockingbird” (Fabian Wagner)

Television Movie, Miniseries or Pilot
“The Trip to Bountiful” (David Greene)
“Manhattan” (John Lindley)
“Gotham” (David Stockton)
“Deliverance Creek” (Theo Van de Sande)

The 29th annual ASC Awards will be held on Feb. 15.