Twelve months after returning from Afghanistan's notorious Helmand Province with 12 Mechanized Brigade, Army photographer Sergeant Jon Bevan, Royal Logistic Corps, is now showcasing some of his published pictures in his hometown of Swansea.

Jon Bevan (37) has been in the Army for 18 years. He initially joined as a military policeman but his love of photography prompted him to change tack three years ago.

For six months of last year Sgt Bevan was capturing images of the war in Afghanistan where his work took him to the frontline.

Having returned to Swansea and opened an exhibition of his work at the city's Grand Theatre, it is only now that he has had time to reflect on how photography has shaped his life.

Exhibited alongside his images of Afghanistan are pictures of places far from scenes of conflict, landscapes of the Gower and the Brecon Beacons in Wales, reminders of the space and the freedom enjoyed at home.

As well as contrasting images of home and Afghanistan, the exhibition also features photographs taken on a toy camera by Sgt Bevan's four-year-old son, Joe.

Father and son spent time together photographing the Welsh landscape but only when the pictures were developed did the Army photographer see a quality that gave extra depth to his own work.

"As I returned back from the realities of war, my son and I just got out and took photographs," remembers Sgt Bevan.

"I got him a £60 Fisher Price digital camera for Christmas, and some of his pictures have blown my professional digital SLR and me away. It is Swansea from 3-feet-tall."

The exhibition, although largely a showcase of Bevan's impressive style with the camera, plays on the stark contrast between the potent images of the conflict in Afghanistan and photographs taken by a child in his homeland.

The three-week exhibition continues at the Grand Theatre in Swansea until 2 December 2008. Sgt Bevan also hopes to take the exhibition to the Imperial War Museum in London. Donations collected during the exhibition will go to the Help for Heroes charity.

Recent promotion has meant Sgt Bevan has now been appointed as a video cameraman to the Army News Teams in support of the Media and Communication Branch at the British Army Headquarters Land Command near Salisbury. He will redeploy to Afghanistan in June 2009 forming part of the Combat Camera Team in support of current operations.

Video diary: Jon Bevan in Afghanistan