đ Share this article Brian Harris Obituary: An Existence Behind the Lens The photojournalist B. Harris, who has died aged 73 of cancer, ended his schooling at 16 to become a messenger boy, and went on to become one of the most respected British photojournalists of his generation. A Global Career He journeyed the world as a freelance or a employee for Fleet Street publications, covering such events as the collapse of the Berlin Wall, drought and hunger in Ethiopia and Sudan, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, battlefields in the Balkans and across Africa, the aftermath of the Falklands war and several US presidential campaigns. He also created poetic landscapes of the rural areas around his Essex home. By his own calculation he took over two million photographs, taking an average of 100 a day, but he made that count several years ago. He continued posting archive and recent images daily on online platforms up to a few weeks before his death, and had been planning to give a talk on his career and experiences. Memorable Projects Stories from a turbulent career included an costly business class flight in 1991 to reach the burial in India of the assassinated leader Rajiv Gandhi, where he collapsed from sunstroke and pneumonia and was cooled down with ice that had been employed to cool the body. His 1983 images of the at that time Labour party leader Neil Kinnock with his wife, Glenys, toppling into the sea on Brighton beach were carried across eight columns of a leading page, and are often reprinted as a striking example of photo-opportunity hubris. His 2016âs memoir, ... And Then the Prime Minister Hit Me, was named after an exasperated John Major hitting him with a rolled-up briefing paper. Career Milestones He was appointed as 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 coverage of the end of the internal conflict in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He later stepped down over what he saw as censorship of his strongest images of starvation in Africa. In 1986 Harris was made head photographer as the team was put together to create a new newspaper. He played a key role in forming the style of journalistic photography that the paper was famous for, helping raise the bar for press images and broadsheet design, in striking images covering multiple pages. Among many awards, he was named the industry-recognised photographer of the year in 1990 for his work in eastern Europe recording the collapse of communism. He worked as a freelance after being made redundant in 1999, and major projects thereafter included a year spent capturing cemeteries across the world in 2006 for the war memorial organisation, which resulted in an exhibition 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. Background and Beginnings Harris was raised 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 eastwards â and up in the world â to the Rise Park housing estate in Romford, Essex. Brian attended a local secondary modern school, learning useful skills in woodwork and metal crafting, before departing at 16. At a Fleet Street agency, he quickly advanced from delivery boy to photographer, and began his working life at east London local papers before progressing to major publications. Peers and Impact Other photographers, often scooped by him, recalled his work as astonishing. Nick Turpin, who collaborated with him in the initial stages, called him âa superb and brave photographerâ, an influence to a cohort of young colleagues. Another associate, a freelance organiser, said he âtransformed the possibilities of news photography during newspapersâ last golden ageâ. Personal Life In 2001 Harris made contact through a online service with Nikki, whom he had first met as a toddler in primary school, and they became inseparable partners through his remaining years. After receiving his terminal diagnosis, they embarked on a driving tour in Europe, sharing bright images of fine dining and good wine, and returning to important sites including Dresden and Ypres. His final project, completed a few weeks before his death, was to donate his vast archive of five decades of work to a long-term repository. Among his favourite archive images he reflected on a youthful Harris drinking generous servings of wine with the actor Helen Mirren: âWhat a fortunate life Iâve had â no regrets and no âMust Doâsââ. He was married twice, both marriages ended in divorce. He is remembered by Nikki, his son Jacob, from his later union, Nikkiâs daughter, Holly, and by his sister, Jan.