The photojournalist B. Harris, who has died at the age of 73 of 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 Career
He travelled across the globe as a freelance or a staffer for Fleet Street publications, covering 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 Balkans and across Africa, the aftermath of the Falklands war and four US presidential campaigns. He also created poetic scenic views of the countryside around his Essex home.
By his own calculation he took over two million images, taking an average of 100 a day, but he stated that figure several years ago. He kept sharing historical and new images each day on social media up to a short time before his passing, and had been planning to deliver a lecture on his career and experiences.Memorable Assignments
Stories from a turbulent career included an expenses-shredding premium flight in 1991 to reach 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 at that time Labour party leader Neil Kinnock with his wife, Glenys, falling into the tide 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 2016’s memoir, ... And Then the Prime Minister Hit Me, was named after an exasperated John Major striking him with a rolled-up briefing paper.
Professional Highlights
He was appointed as the Times’ most youthful staff photographer when he joined the paper in 1976, at the age of 26, and was based around the world for nearly a decade, including reporting of the end of the civil war in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He later stepped down over what he considered editing of his most powerful images of starvation in Africa.
In 1986 Harris became chief photographer as the team was assembled to launch a new newspaper. He was instrumental in forming the style of editorial photography that the paper was famous for, helping set new standards for news photography and newspaper design, in dramatic images filling front and back pages. Among numerous awards, he was named 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 made redundant in 1999, and significant projects after that included a year spent photographing cemeteries across the world in 2006 for the war memorial organisation, which resulted in an display launched in London – where he gave a private viewing to Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh – and a emotional book, Remembered.
Early Life and Start
Harris was born in eastern London, to Dorothy and Leonard Harris, an technician who later helped his son build a photo lab in the garage. In the mid 1950s, the family relocated eastwards – and up in the world – to the Rise Park housing estate in Romford, Essex. Brian went to a local secondary modern school, learning useful skills in woodwork and metal crafting, before leaving at 16.
At a Fleet Street agency, he quickly advanced from delivery boy to photographer, and began his working life at eastern London local papers before progressing to major publications.
Peers and Impact
Fellow photographers, often scooped by him, remembered his work as remarkable. Nick Turpin, who collaborated with him in the initial stages, called him “a great and brave photographer”, an influence to a cohort of young colleagues. Another associate, a freelance organiser, said he “transformed the possibilities of news photography during newspapers’ last golden age”.
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 learning of his illness, they embarked on a driving tour in Europe, sharing bright images of good meals and quality drinks, and revisiting significant sites including Dresden and Ypres.
His final project, completed a short time before his demise, was to donate his extensive collection of five decades of work to a permanent home. Among his favourite archive images he commented on a youthful Harris consuming 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 married twice, both marriages ended in divorce.
He is remembered by Nikki, his son Jacob, from his second marriage, Nikki’s daughter, Holly, and by his sister, Jan.
