Roger Bamber (31 August 1944 – 11 September 2022) was a British photojournalist whose subjects included war, politics and music for both broadsheet and tabloid newspapers. He won both the British Press Photographer of the Year and News Photographer of the Year twice. [1]

By 1988, Bamber had moved to work as a freelance photographer for The Observer, followed by The Guardian shortly thereafter. In 1992, he won a photographer of the year award from the Guardian. [3] There was no doubt that my life and career were lifted by knowing Roger and I looked forward to the days that he might come into the office.Roger Bamber: an original mind - Twice British Photographer of the Year; twice News Photographer of the Year (topfoto.co.uk) A pair of giant legs on the roof of the Duke of York cinema, Brighton. Roger Bamber was awarded an honorary master’s degree from the University of Brighton for his coverage of the city. Photograph: Roger Bamber/Alamy Nicholas Marsh said: “Sorry to hear about Roger Bamber. Many years ago I framed his wonderful photographs.” The unifying element in all his work is his distinctive graphic style, wry humour and boundless originality, all of which worked across the broad range of publications he filled with punchy pictures which made people think and look twice.

Just before he died, Roger Bamber finished his fascinating autobiography with a foreword by Eammon McCabe. I really enjoyed the Roger Bamber exhibition. My favourite work was “Moos Paper”. I liked it’s randomness. Another one I liked was the flowerpot heads, because it was odd and out of the ordinary. The Wapping dispute, and dissatisfaction over increased working hours, soured Bamber’s relationship with The Sun and in 1988 he quit to go freelance, working principally for The Observer and then The Guardian. Roger’s career spanned the golden age of photojournalism, and he was one of its brightest lights – though you wouldn’t have known it because he wore his genius modestly and without flash.

In 2009, Bamber retired from mainstream newspaper photography but continued to photograph a wide variety of subjects which interested him. He was working on the proofs of a book, Out of the Ordinary until shortly before his death. [1] Personal life [ edit ] At first, I thought that the image (train) was a soldier hiding in a bush in a war. But, it’s a train! As a whole, I think the exhibition was really great and very fascinating with all the different images. I liked the high contrast that Roger Bamber used.

The photograph was part of a portfolio that won the Ilford Press Photographer of the Year in 1992 and Ilford later used it as a poster for Ilford film, with the slogan ‘That’s the Way to Do It’. Michael Stone’s tent and puppets are now on display at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. This picture, taken in the split second after seeing him, later won News Photographer of the Year for 1973. But the icing on the cake was when a box from El Vino’s, the legal watering hole of choice in Fleet Street, was delivered to me. It was full of wine and fine cheeses and there was a card from the barrister James Crespi on top: ‘Dear Roger, thank you for the best portrait of me ever taken.’

Bamber was born in Leicester on 31 August 1944 to Vera (nee Stephenson) and Fred Bamber. He had an older sister Valerie. His mother had a job in the local textile industry and his father was a telephone operator. [3] He grew up near the Great Central Railway line which created a lifelong interest in steam trains. [1]

I would rate this exhibition 7/10. I liked the photography, but I prefer landscape photography. Sasha Exclusive! Roger Bamber: out of the ordinary Twice British Photographer of the Year; twice News Photographer of the Year Roger Bamber: Out of the Ordinary (brightonmuseums.org.uk) – exhibition, 1 April to 3 September 2023. Roger first met Guardian staffer Denis Thorpe covering the investiture of Prince Charles in 1969 at Caernarfon Castle. They took their positions on a high scaffold tower early for the ceremony with firm instructions to stay put.

Bamber died of lung cancer, at the age of 78, last September, but his work lives on. In the days before his death he was correcting the proofs of his recently published book, which chronicles his life’s work, from his hospital bed. His life story, which he never completed, has been compiled instead by his wife Shan, a former Sun journalist, and his long-time Guardian collaborator Maev Kennedy, a Sussex-based writer, from the thousands of words he had written and the scores of yellow Post-it notes littering his desk. An accompanying exhibition showcasing his finest photographs will run at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery from April. It’s inspired me to take more photos and to revisit places that Roger Bamber photographed to try and recreate the images. Louie