Rest in Peace John Bowring ACS

[Adam Eden]

I have just been informed via an Australian Cinematography Society bulletin this morning the the great John Bowring has passed away.
John was the founder/owner of Lemac Australia which is a very successful camera rental/Sales house.

John was an avid supporter of the RED system and as I believe one of the first company's in Australia to rent RED cameras.

John was still a working cinematographer and was a mentor not just to myself but to many people in our industry.

His lighting and camera techniques were second to none. John alway's had the time to talk to his customers, friends and members of the ACS about any problem or advice on lighting/ camera techniques or even if you wanted a second opinion about something, John was always generous with his time.

He was a wonderful kind man and will be greatly missed, as now there is a huge hole in the Australian television and film industry.

His death is a great shock to me as I only spoke to him recently and he was full of life.

This is truely a sad day.

 

[Shane Betts]

John (Brolga) Bowring was the the first cameraman I ever assisted. I must say he was a complete mongrel to me that day;-), replacing me with one of his Lemac crew within the first couple of hours, forcing me to just stand by and watch, but as always with John, there was a valuable lesson in there. I learnt that and many, many more lessons from John and he was always supportive and free with his time and seemingly limitless knowledge over the intervening 25 years. His passing leaves an enormous hole in the local industry - one that may never be filled. Rest in peace John. Hope they serve Bundy where you're headed.

 

[Mike Seymour]

After seeing John at various events - like Sony 8K all week... Jason Wingrove, Richard Gibson and I saw John at LAX in the Qantas lounge. He was joking and kidding with us, he was about to board his flight to Hong Kong with his wife. For all the world he looked happy, and every bit just someone looking forward to heading home. His loss was very sudden and such a shame.

Lemac and John have served the industry with great distinction for years. He will be solely missed. Here was a man who was always contributing to the industry - at NAB he was filming for his annual SMPTE Aust video - showing the best of NAB to those members of the community who could not make it to NAB - he did this with the relish of a kid new to the industry keen to show others the great new toys NAB had to offer, always keen to share.

R.I.P

 

[Tim Schumann]

Thanks for the kind words Adam, Mike and Shane.

I have worked very closely with John over the past six years and this news has been completely devastating for all of us in the Lemac family, myself included.
Tributes are pouring in but I am going to have to stop reading them otherwise my keyboard is going to flood.

He was my boss, a mentor, a massive inspiration to all of us and a very very close friend of mine. Over the last two years he would basically set up on his laptop in the edit suite next to me whenever he wasn't out shooting.
He loved cameras and from the word go was a fan of the Red camera and what it stood for, it is of no surprise to me that Ted emailed very early this morning to offer his condolences.

I remember being at NAB on the day that Red was announced as shipping and he sat all of us down and told us that today was the day that the industry changes forever. He truly believed it and has been a pivotal factor in Red One's success in this country.
I will make sure I pass on anything that is posted on here to our team and to his family, we are considering options at the moment for setting up a tribute site or page and ask that you all have patience and compassion on this one.

The ACS has announced this morning that they are dedicating this year's National Cinematography awards to him. A very high honour. John was an amazing man and one of the most driven, single minded and brutally honest people I've ever met. We will miss him a great deal.

These are some of the tributes that have been flowing in today.
We are totally overcome and in awe of what people are saying. We all knew how amazing John was but these tributes are really heartfelt and moving.
Its a bit of an insight into how much of an impact he had on all of our lives...

From Ron Johannsen ACS National President (Australian Cinematographers Society)
http://www.cinematographer.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=624

From John Brawley - currently shooting Offspring series 2 on multiple Red MX cameras from our fleet
http://johnbrawley.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/the-passing-of-john-bowring-acs/

More to follow no doubt.

 

[Jannard]

I consider John a close friend and this is a great loss.

Make the most out of every minute. At some point, we all run out of them.

Jim

 

[Alan Piper]

This is shocking news.
What a great guy.
What a terrible, unexpected loss.
There are suddenly fewer laughs on this planet.
Miss John.

Alan.

 

[ian dart]

john was one of natures gentlemen.

it was a privilege to have known him.

my condolences to his family and the staff at lemac.

ian dart

 

[PHactor]

I am honored to have known John Bowring ACS for just the few times we would meet at the annual NAB convention. He was generous with his knowledge, as well as his smile. We sat together in several DP workshops, and he would generously invite me along with his Lemac staff to lunch or dinner. On the trade floor, he could only take a few steps before being warmly greeted by legends of the craft, the namesakes of large companies or by DPs, ACs, Gaffers, and he would introduce me to them as though I was his and their equal. For a shooter from Iowa, this was such a heady experience which gives me pause as I write this.
I was with him only last Tuesday at NAB in Vegas, walking the floor, looking at lenses and cameras. I even helped him with a vendor interview he conducted as part of his much-anticipated Australian NAB tech report. He was the highlight for me at NAB over the last seven years and always more interesting than the latest gear around us.
My deepest condolences to his wife Sue, children Jack and Kate, his Lemac family, and the ACS. NAB will certainly not be the same for me, dare I say, the industry, with John's passing.

Paul Hickey
Des Moines, Iowa

 

[Pawel Achtel]

Wow, that's shoking news! I spoke with John just a few weeks ago at the Ted's presentation in Sydney. John has always been a very warm and level headed person and I greatly enjoyed many friendly chats with him. I will miss him a lot.

 

[Patric Ralston]

I am shocked and saddened to hear of John's passing. I first met John when he sold the first Aaton XTR prods into New Zealand in 1995. We kept in touch over the years, often meeting at IBC or Cinec. He often joked that there was a job going if ever I wanted to move back Down Under.
I will miss our chats. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.

 

[Brad Wilson]

When I got the email from Ted Schilowitz yesterday informing me of the devastating news, I was completely at a loss for words. What made it all the more horrible was that I barely said hi to him during NAB last week as I was expecting to meet up with him the next day and didn't want to disturb his Sony booth tour, but I ended up with the flu the next morning and stayed in the hotel most of the next day before my flight back to LA.

I've only known John & Sue for a couple years, but even in that short amount of time, while I worked at the Sydney Lemac office, I learned so much from him, and would stay up late reading industry news in trade magazines or scouring the internet for information on various cameras and specs so I felt somewhat comfortable carrying on and contributing to a conversation with such a great mind.

John was extremely generous and a good natured soul, and his loss will weigh tremendously in the hearts of those who knew him well. He was just such a likable guy and a thrill to be around, listening to his sarcastic quips and trying to keep some composure while he exercised his great sense of humor.

My heart goes out to Sue and their kids, and people like Tim Schumann, Brett Dwyer, and Matias Pitner, the Jones brothers, Scott Backhouse, and the rest of the Lemac Sydney team who I got to know so well.

I know John's great legacy will continue on because of all the wonderful people he surrounded himself with.

We'll miss you, JB...

 

[John Hall]

I was lucky to get a job as a camera assistant at GTV 9. I was even luckier to assist John. To work with John meant a day of excitement, laughter and learning. In the 30 years since then I was still learning from John he was the most generous man with his knowledge I have ever meet. But to me his most important lesson is that this industry is meant to be fun, and it is , but it is missing a very cheeky grin now. I will miss him. Vale John Bowring

 

[Mark Toia]

He was one of those people that mentored me without speaking a word.
Took calculated risks and believed in technology and supported it.
Setup a great business in Australia that people always ran to when they are in trouble.
Supported the underdog when the big boys would snob you.

A true gentleman of the business and will be sadly missed.
My deepest condolences.

I hope he passed painlessly.

very sad, very sad indeed. :angelsad2:

 

[Kris Anderson]

I didn't know John personally. I only met him once last year while he was filming my friend's wedding (on 35mm, no less). I heard that RED/Jim made an appearance in the video messages at John's memorial yesterday. Just wanted to say that was pretty cool of you.

I'm coming to the US in July... would love to meet you and hopefully, RED supply chain and my cancer permitting, purchase an Epic-X while I'm there. Fingers crossed.