Cinematographer Gordon Willis, best known for his work on The Godfather series and a number of Woody Allen films, has died. He was 82.

Gordon Willis Dies

Willis’s death was confirmed by American Society of Cinematographers president Richard Crudo on Sunday.

“This is a momentous loss,” Crudo told Deadline. “He was one of the giants who absolutely changed the way movies looked. Up until the time of The Godfather 1 and 2, nothing previously shot looked that way. He changed the way films looked and the way people looked at films.”

Willis’s nickname in Hollywood was “The Prince of Darkness,” as he used the subtle absence of light to inject meaning into the films he worked on. Among the Woody Allen films his work appears in are the director’s best known and most beloved – Annie Hall and Manhattan. He also worked on Klute and All the President’s Men. His last film prior to retiring was 1997’s The Devil’s Own.

Though Willis never won an Oscar despite being nominated twice for Zelig and The Godfather, Part III, the films that he worked on received an incredible amount of attention at the Academy Awards. In the 70s, the films he worked on received 39 nods and picked up 19 statues. In 2009, the Academy presented Willis with an honorary award.