Lowell Nick Peterson is a veteran camera operator and cinematographer, a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, who worked as camera operator on the first and second seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation under cinematographer Edward R. Brown, and as additional photographer on Star Trek: First Contact. For his work on The Next Generation, Peterson only received screen credit in the end credits of the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint". According to Patrick Stewart, Peterson was the person on set that he trusted. When the director called "cut!", Stewart always had a look if Peterson had a nod of approval or shake of disapproval for him. Following Peterson's reaction Stewart asked for reshoots of the scene. [1]
Peterson worked as director of photography on over 70 episodes of Desperate Housewives between 2005 and 2011 which features Trek alumni Teri Hatcher, Brenda Strong, Mark Moses, Alfre Woodard, and Vanessa Williams. He was interviewed on the Season 2 DVD special "Directing Desperate Housewives: An Episode from Concept to Completion".
Peterson worked as first assistant camera operator on the film Disco 9000 (1976), The Human Tornado (1976), Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell (1978), Mistress of the Apes (1979), Hawaii Five-O (1979-1980, starring Jack Lord), The White Shadow (1980-1981), and Lou Grant (1981-1982), and Something About Amelia (1984, cinematography by Edward R. Brown). As camera operator Peterson worked on The Duck Factory (1984), the television drama Children in the Crossfire (1984, cinematography by Edward R. Brown), 1st & Ten (1984) and Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1985-1986), Like Father Like Son (1987), Coupe de Ville (1990), A Show of Force (1990), Postcards from the Edge (1990, with set lightning technician Adam Glick and steadicam operator Randy Nolen), Guilty by Suspicion (1991, with Roxann Dawson), The Mambo Kings (1992), and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992, starring Winona Ryder).
As second unit director of photography he worked on Bedazzled (2000) and on Bubble Boy (2001). On Spider-Man 2 (2004), Peterson was the director of photography of the blue screen unit. The film featured Kirsten Dunst and Donna Murphy.
From the early 1990s on Peterson worked as director of photography/ cinematographer. His credits in this position include Knots Landing (1990-1993), Hotel Malibu (1994, with Joanna Cassidy), Second Chances (1993-1994, with Ray Wise), The Client (1995-1996), Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1995-1996, starring Teri Hatcher), Moloney (1996-1997), Profiler (1998-1999), Ryan Caulfield: Year One (1999), and Six Feet Under (2004). His film work includes the television movies Galaxy Beat (1994, with Tracy Scoggins), The Inspector General (2000, with Virginia Madsen), More, Patience (2001), Just Ask My Children (2001, with Virginia Madsen and Jeffrey Nordling), Life On Parole (2003), Sasquatch Hunters (2005), and Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas (2006, with John Cho).
Peterson received three American Society of Cinematographers Award nominations for his work on Second Chances (1994), Profiler (2000), and Just Ask My Children (2001). In 2005 he received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series for his work on the series Six Feet Under. He serves on the Awards and Membership Committees of the American Society of Cinematographers, and is a member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. [2]
Since 2009, Peterson has been married to former stuntwoman Carol Daniels Dement.