đ Share this article Esteemed Photographer Brian Harris Life Story: An Existence Behind the Camera The photographer B. Harris, who passed away at the age of 73 from cancer, ended his schooling at 16 to work as a courier, and eventually became one of the most respected British documentary photographers of his generation. A Global Career He travelled the world as a freelance or a employee for major British publications, documenting major happenings including the fall of the Berlin Wall, drought and hunger in Ethiopia and Sudan, the conflict in Northern Ireland, war zones in the Balkan region and across Africa, the consequences of the Falklands war and four US presidential campaigns. Additionally, he produced lyrical scenic views of the countryside around his home county of Essex home. By his own calculation he shot more than 2m photographs, averaging 100 a day, but he made that count some years back. He kept sharing historical and recent images daily on social media until a few weeks before his death, and had been arranging to give a talk on his life and work. Memorable Assignments Stories from a turbulent career featured an expenses-shredding premium flight in 1991 to reach the burial in India of the slain politician Rajiv Gandhi, where he collapsed from sunstroke and pneumonia and was treated with ice that had been used to preserve the body. His 1983âs images of the at that time Labour party leader Neil Kinnock with his wife, Glenys, toppling into the tide on Brighton beach were published across eight columns of a leading page, and are regularly reproduced as a striking example of staged photo hubris. His 2016âs memoir, ... And Then the Prime Minister Hit Me, took the title from an irritated John Major striking him with a folded briefing paper. Professional Milestones He was appointed as the Timesâ most youthful staff photographer when he joined the paper in 1976, at the age of 26, and worked around the world for almost ten years, including reporting of the end of the civil war in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He eventually resigned over what he saw as censorship of his strongest images of starvation in Africa. In 1986 Harris became chief photographer as the team was assembled to create a new newspaper. He played a key role in forming the style of editorial photography that the paper became known for, helping set new standards for press images and newspaper design, in dramatic images filling front and back pages. Among numerous awards, he was named the industry-recognised photographer of the year in 1990 for his work in the former Eastern Bloc recording the fall of communism. He operated independently after being made redundant in 1999, and significant projects after that included a year spent capturing cemeteries across the world in 2006 for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which resulted in an display launched in London â where he gave a private viewing to Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh â and a moving book, Remembered. Background and Start Harris was raised in east London, to Dorothy and Leonard Harris, an technician who later helped his son build a darkroom in the garage. In the mid 1950s, the family moved eastwards â and to a better area â to the Rise Park housing estate in Romford, Essex. Brian went to a local secondary modern school, learning practical skills in woodwork and metal crafting, before departing at 16. At a Fleet Street photo agency, he rose rapidly from messenger boy to photographer, and launched his working life at east London local papers before moving on to national publications. Peers and Impact Fellow photographers, often scooped by him, recalled his work as astonishing. A colleague, who collaborated with him in the initial stages, called him âa superb and brave photographerâ, an inspiration to a cohort of young colleagues. Another associate, a union representative, said he âtransformed the possibilities of news photography during newspapersâ last golden ageâ. Private World In 2001 Harris made contact through a online service with Nikki Bertroya, whom he had first met as a three-year-old in infant school, and they became inseparable partners through his final decades. After learning of his illness, they embarked on a road trip in Europe, sharing sunny images of good meals and good wine, and revisiting significant sites including Dresden and Ypres. His final project, finished a short time before his death, was to donate his vast archive of 55 yearsâ work to a permanent home. Among his favourite archive images he reflected on a youthful Harris consuming generous servings of wine with the actor Helen Mirren: âWhat a fortunate life Iâve had â no regrets and no âMust Doâsââ. He was wed twice, both marriages concluded with divorce. He is survived by Nikki, his son Jacob, from his second marriage, Nikkiâs daughter, Holly, and by his sister, Jan.