đ Share this article Esteemed Photographer Brian Harris Life Story: A Life Behind the Camera The photographer Brian Harris, who passed away at the age of 73 from cancer, left school at 16 to work as a courier, and went on to become among the most esteemed UK photojournalists of his era. A Global Professional Journey He travelled across the globe as a freelance or a employee for Fleet Street titles, documenting major happenings including the fall of the Berlin Wall, drought and hunger in Ethiopia and Sudan, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, battlefields in the Balkan region and throughout Africa, the consequences of the Falklands war and several US election campaigns. Additionally, he produced lyrical scenic views of the rural areas around his Essex home. By his own calculation he took over two million photographs, averaging 100 a day, but he stated that figure some years back. He kept sharing historical and new images each day on online platforms until a short time before his passing, and had been arranging to deliver a lecture on his life and work. Notable Projects Tales from a rollercoaster career included an expenses-shredding premium flight in 1991 to attend the funeral in India of the assassinated leader Rajiv Gandhi, where he collapsed from heatstroke and pneumonia and was treated with ice that had been employed to cool the body. His 1983âs images of the then Labour party leader Neil Kinnock with his wife, Glenys, toppling into the sea on Brighton beach were published across multiple columns of a front page, and are often reprinted as a striking example of staged photo hubris. His 2016âs memoir, ... And Then the Prime Minister Hit Me, was named after an irritated John Major striking him with a rolled-up briefing paper. Professional Milestones He was appointed as the a major newspaperâs most youthful staff photographer when he started there in 1976, at the age of 26, and was based around the world for almost ten years, including reporting of the end of the internal conflict in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He eventually resigned over what he considered editing of his most powerful images of famine in Africa. In 1986 Harris became chief photographer as the team was put together to create a new newspaper. He played a key role in forming the style of editorial photography that the paper became known for, helping raise the bar for press images and newspaper design, in striking images covering front and back pages. Among many awards, he was named the industry-recognised photographer of the year in 1990 for his work in the former Eastern Bloc documenting the collapse of communism. He operated independently after being made redundant in 1999, and significant projects thereafter included a year spent photographing cemeteries across the world in 2006 for the war memorial organisation, which led to an exhibition launched in London â where he gave a personal tour to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh â and a emotional book, Remembered. Early Life and Beginnings Harris was born in east London, to Dorothy and Leonard Harris, an electrician who later assisted him construct a photo lab in the garage. In the mid 1950s, the family moved farther east â and to a better area â to the Rise Park estate in Romford, Essex. Brian attended a local secondary modern school, learning practical skills in woodwork and metalwork, before departing at 16. At a central London agency, he quickly advanced from delivery boy to photographer, and launched his working life at eastern London local papers before moving on to major publications. Colleagues and Legacy Fellow photographers, often outpaced by him, remembered his work as remarkable. A colleague, who worked with him in the initial stages, called him âa superb and brave photographerâ, an inspiration to a generation of junior colleagues. Another associate, a freelance organiser, said he âtransformed the possibilities of news photography during newspapersâ peak eraâ. Personal Life In 2001 Harris reconnected through a website with Nikki, 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 driving tour in Europe, sharing sunny images of good meals and quality drinks, and revisiting significant sites including Dresden and Ypres. His last task, completed a few weeks before his death, was to donate his vast archive of five decades of work to a permanent home. Among his preferred 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 remorse and no âMust Doâsââ. He was wed twice, each union ended in divorce. He is survived by Nikki, his son Jacob, from his second marriage, Nikkiâs daughter, Holly, and by his sister, Jan.