BELTON – Creekside Gallery in Belton is currently featuring the photographic work of U.S. Army Operational Test Command photographer/videographer Larry Furnace.

“I have seven of my photographs on display, and for sale, at Creekside,” Furnace, a Belton native, said. The color photographs are an eclectic collection of buildings, nature, still life and night scenes.

Creekside owner Sheila Weaver said she is planning on building a show around Furnace’s military photographs to coincide with Belton’s Memorial Day celebration in May.

“Belton has not had a well-attended Memorial Day celebration in years. We had such a fantastic turnout for our Veterans’ Day celebration in November, coordinated by the Belton Area Chamber of Commerce, that it started me thinking about what I could give back to make Memorial Day special this year, especially since we have so many veterans living in Belton,” Weaver said.

“Belton is already well-known for being a patriotic town,” she added, “what with our nationally recognized July Fourth celebration, that it’s logical to build on that heritage with more patriotic events.”

A man of many talents, Furnace has been a restaurant manager, carried the mail for the U.S. Postal Service and worked for Dupont Industries before discovering photography was the career he really loved.

“I got interested in photography when I covered hockey games for the Central Texas Stampede,” he said. “The editor of the magazine wanted photographs with the stories, so I got an old camera and started shooting.”

Furnace liked it so much that he went back to school to study digital imaging at the Oklahoma School of Photography in Moore, Okla. After getting his diploma, he continued his studies in commercial photography at Collin College in the Dallas area, receiving a Field of Study Certificate.

Freelancing for awhile for such publications as Sports Illustrated, Furnace was also a partner in a studio in Dallas until he accepted a temporary civil service position at OTC in 2004.

“I left for a short while for a permanent position with the Air Force in Utah,” he said, “but I was able to return to OTC for a permanent position in July of 2006.

“I really love test documentation,” Furnace said, “but the Creekside Gallery got me fired up about the artistic side of photography.”

To see more of Furnace’s work, or find out more about Belton’s Creekside Gallery, visit www.larryfurnace.com and www.creeksidegallery.com.