đ Share this article Brian Harris Life Story: An Existence Behind the Camera The photographer Brian Harris, who has died aged 73 from cancer, left school at 16 to work as a courier, and went on to become among the most esteemed British documentary photographers of his generation. An International Career He journeyed the world as a independent or a staffer for major British titles, documenting such events as 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 throughout Africa, the aftermath of the Falklands conflict and several US election campaigns. He also created poetic scenic views of the countryside around his home county of Essex home. According to his estimates he shot more than 2m images, averaging 100 a day, but he made that count several years ago. He continued posting archive and recent images each day on social media up to a few weeks before his passing, and had been planning to give a talk on his career and experiences. Notable Assignments Tales from a turbulent career included an expenses-shredding business class flight in 1991 to attend the burial in India of the slain politician Rajiv Gandhi, where he collapsed from heatstroke 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 carried across multiple columns of a front page, and are regularly reproduced as a hideous example of photo-opportunity hubris. His 2016âs memoir, ... And Then the Prime Minister Hit Me, took the title from an irritated John Major hitting him with a folded briefing paper. Career Milestones He became 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 coverage of the end of the civil war 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 create a new newspaper. He was instrumental in shaping the style of journalistic photography that the paper was famous for, helping set new standards for press images and newspaper design, in striking images filling front and back pages. Among numerous awards, he was named the What the Papers Say photographer of the year in 1990 for his work in eastern Europe recording the fall of communism. He worked as a freelance after being let go in 1999, and major 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 moving book, Remembered. Background and Beginnings Harris was raised in eastern London, to Dorothy and Leonard Harris, an electrician who later assisted him construct a photo lab in the garage. In the 1950s, the family moved eastwards â and to a better area â to the Rise Park estate in Romford, Essex. Brian went to Chase Cross secondary modern school, acquiring practical skills in woodwork and metalwork, before leaving at 16. At a central London photo agency, he rose rapidly from delivery boy to photographer, and launched his working life at eastern London local papers before progressing to major publications. Colleagues and Legacy Other photographers, often scooped by him, remembered his work as astonishing. A colleague, who collaborated with him in the initial stages, described him as âa superb and brave photographerâ, an influence to a generation of junior colleagues. Another associate, a freelance organiser, said he âtransformed the possibilities of news photography during newspapersâ last golden ageâ. Personal Life In 2001 Harris reconnected through a online service with Nikki Bertroya, whom he had initially encountered as a toddler in primary school, and they became inseparable partners through his remaining years. After receiving his terminal diagnosis, they went on a driving tour in Europe, posting sunny images of fine dining and quality drinks, and returning to important sites including Dresden and Ypres. His last task, finished a short time before his demise, was to donate his extensive collection of 55 yearsâ work to a permanent home. Among his favourite archive images he reflected on a very young Harris consuming 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 survived by Nikki, his son Jacob, from his later union, Nikkiâs daughter, Holly, and by his sister, Jan.