IS a photo worth the risk of a war zone? Petty Officer Hamish Burke thinks so.

He’s the photographer for 3 Commando Brigade covering their six-month deployment in Afghanistan.

The 27-year-old from Ferndown sees it has duty to record what the men and women are going through.

“At the end of the day, it’s history, what the guys and girls are doing,” he told the Daily Echo at Camp Bastion.

“I’m not here to cover the news. I cover the experience they’re going through.

“My loyalty lies very much with the men on the ground.

“I guess the key to it for me is that you have got one chance.

“That moment will never be repeated again.”

He spends several days with the different units that make up the brigade, including 1 Rifles, the former Devon and Dorsets, and goes out on patrol with them.

But are the photos worth the danger?

“Yes, I suppose they are. You don’t really think about the danger.

“Sometimes you might wonder what you are doing but essentially it’s just a job, it’s a job I like to do.

“I do think it’s worth it because when you look back to World War II there’s so many people risking so much every day and there would be no record of them being there without photographers.

“Looking through a camera lens detaches you from the situation in front of you.”

He said this tour has not been as “kinetic” as previous years, an army term to describe conventional fighting.

The constant tours meant he had a “heart breaking” moment when his son Kodi, 14 months old, didn’t even recognise him.

The soldiers themselves like the pictures that make them most look like soldiers.

So if he was in a patrol under fire, would he ditch the gun?

“If there was a clear line of sight to the enemy I would be obliged by the uniform to take the shot.”