🔗 Share this article Esteemed Photographer Brian Harris Obituary: A Life Behind the Camera The photojournalist Brian Harris, who passed away aged 73 from cancer, left school at 16 to work as a courier, and went on to become one of the most respected UK documentary photographers of his era. A Global Career He journeyed across the globe as a freelance or a employee for Fleet Street titles, documenting such events as the collapse of the Berlin Wall, drought and hunger in Ethiopia and Sudan, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, battlefields in the Balkan region and across Africa, the aftermath of the Falklands war and several US presidential campaigns. He also created lyrical scenic views of the countryside around his home county of Essex home. By his own calculation he took more than 2m images, averaging 100 a day, but he made that count several years ago. He kept sharing archive and new images each day on social media up to a short time before his death, and had been planning to give a talk on his career and experiences. Memorable Projects Tales from a rollercoaster career included an costly 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 cooled down with ice that had been employed to cool the body. His 1983’s images of the then Labour party leader Neil Kinnock with his wife, Glenys, toppling into the sea on Brighton beach were carried across eight columns of a front 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. Professional Milestones He became the Times’ youngest ever staff photographer when he started there in 1976, at the age of 26, and was based around the world for nearly a decade, including coverage of the end of the civil war in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He eventually resigned over what he considered censorship of his most powerful images of famine 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 journalistic photography that the paper became known for, helping raise the bar for press images and broadsheet design, in striking images filling front and back pages. Among numerous awards, he was honoured as the industry-recognised photographer of the year in 1990 for his work in eastern Europe recording the fall of communism. He operated independently after being let go 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 – where he gave a personal tour to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh – and a moving book, Remembered. Early Life and Beginnings Harris was raised in east London, to Dorothy and Leonard Harris, an technician who later assisted him build a darkroom in the garage. In the 1950s, the family relocated farther east – and to a better area – to the Rise Park estate in Romford, Essex. Brian went to a local secondary modern school, learning practical skills in woodwork and metal crafting, before leaving at 16. At a central London photo agency, he quickly advanced from messenger boy to photographer, and began his professional career at eastern London local papers before progressing to national publications. Peers and Legacy Other photographers, often outpaced by him, remembered his work as remarkable. A colleague, who collaborated with him in the early days, described him as “a great and brave photographer”, an influence to a generation of junior colleagues. Tim Dawson, a union representative, said he “transformed the possibilities of news photography during newspapers’ peak era”. Private World In 2001 Harris reconnected through a online service with Nikki, whom he had initially encountered as a toddler 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 bright images of fine dining and quality drinks, and revisiting significant sites including Dresden and Ypres. His last task, completed a short time before his demise, was to transfer his extensive collection of five decades of work to a long-term repository. Among his preferred historical photos he commented on a youthful Harris drinking generous servings of wine with the actor Helen Mirren: “What a fortunate life I’ve had – no regrets and no ‘Must Do’s’”. He was wed twice, each union concluded with divorce. He is remembered by Nikki, his son Jacob, from his second marriage, Nikki’s daughter, Holly, and by his sister, Jan.