đ Share this article Brian Harris Obituary: A Life Through the Lens The photographer Brian Harris, who passed away at the age of 73 from cancer, left school at 16 to work as a courier, and eventually became one of the most respected British documentary photographers of his era. An International Professional Journey He journeyed across the globe as a freelance or a staffer for major British titles, covering major happenings including the collapse of the Berlin Wall, drought and hunger in Ethiopia and Sudan, the conflict in Northern Ireland, battlefields in the Balkans and throughout Africa, the consequences of the Falklands conflict and four US election campaigns. He also created poetic scenic views of the rural areas around his home county of Essex home. By his own calculation he took more than 2m photographs, taking an average of 100 a day, but he stated that figure some years back. He continued posting archive and new images each day on social media up to a short time before his passing, and had been arranging to deliver a lecture on his life and work. Notable Assignments Stories from a turbulent career featured an costly business class flight in 1991 to attend the burial in India of the slain politician Rajiv Gandhi, where he fainted from sunstroke and pneumonia and was cooled down with ice that had been used to preserve the body. His 1983 images of the at that time Labour party leader Neil Kinnock with his wife, Glenys, falling into the sea on Brighton beach were published across multiple columns of a leading page, and are regularly reproduced as a striking example of photo-opportunity hubris. His 2016 memoir, ... And Then the Prime Minister Hit Me, took the title from an exasperated John Major striking him with a rolled-up briefing paper. Career Highlights He became the a major newspaperâs youngest ever 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 internal conflict in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He later stepped down over what he considered censorship of his strongest images of starvation in Africa. In 1986 Harris became chief photographer as the team was assembled to launch a major newspaper. He played a key role in shaping the style of editorial photography that the paper became known for, helping set new standards for news photography and broadsheet design, in striking images covering multiple pages. Among numerous awards, he was honoured as the What the Papers Say photographer of the year in 1990 for his work in eastern Europe documenting the fall of communism. He worked as a freelance after being made redundant in 1999, and significant projects thereafter included a year spent capturing cemeteries across the world in 2006 for the war memorial organisation, which led to an display launched in London â where he gave a personal tour to Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh â and a moving book, Remembered. Early Life and Beginnings Harris was born in eastern London, to Dorothy and Leonard Harris, an electrician who later helped his son build a photo lab in the garage. In the mid 1950s, the family relocated farther east â and up in the world â to the Rise Park estate in Romford, Essex. Brian attended a local secondary modern school, learning practical skills in woodwork and metal crafting, before departing at 16. At a central London photo agency, he rose rapidly from messenger boy to photographer, and began his professional career at east London local papers before moving on to major publications. Colleagues and Legacy Fellow photographers, often scooped by him, remembered 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. Tim Dawson, 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 website with Nikki Bertroya, whom he had first met as a toddler in primary school, and they became close companions through his final decades. After receiving his terminal diagnosis, they went on a road trip in Europe, sharing sunny images of good meals and quality drinks, and returning to important 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 long-term repository. Among his favourite historical photos he commented on a youthful Harris drinking large glasses of wine with the actor Helen Mirren: âWhat a blessed life Iâve had â no remorse and no âMust Doâsââ. He was married twice, each union ended in divorce. He is remembered by Nikki, his son Jacob, from his later union, Nikkiâs daughter, Holly, and by his sister, Jan.