RENO – When society looks away, Jeff Ross looks closer.

For many years, the Reno photographer had focused his lens on the beautiful, photographing for casinos, banks and magazines across the West Coast. Now, the photographer is focusing on a different type of beauty.

“I was so moved by these people who get ignored,” Ross said. “I wanted to shed light on their humanity.”

The photographer was speaking of his latest photo project, “Faces of St. Vincent's.” For more than a year, Ross spent what time he could at the dining table with the homeless who frequent the St. Vincent's dining hall at 500 E. Fourth St.

The result was a photo project that now graces the walls of Reno City Hall in the Metro Art Gallery.

Some of the black and white photos stare directly into the viewer's eyes while others show men gently gazing at and touching the rims of canned food.

“Color is either right or it is wrong,” Ross said of his choice to go with black and white photos. “But with black and white, I have a much larger range. I can make it darker, I can make it brighter, I have much more control.”

Each of the photos is framed backwards, with the polished front of the frame facing the wall, and asking people to join Ross in his journey and look at the subjects in a different way.

“We are excited to share these iconic images with our local community,” said Sandy Isham, development and community relations manager for Catholic Community Services of Northern Nevada. “Poverty affects and connects us all. No one will walk away from the 'Faces of St. Vincent’s' without feeling stirred by the emotions captured in these photographs.”

The powerful faces of the homeless are just a stepping stone for Ross in a much larger endeavor to depict those who hide in the shadows.

In 2008, Ross spent his off hours with employees from High Sierra Industries, a local company that provides employment opportunities and living arrangements for people with physical and mental challenges. The photo project was entitled “Hope: 26 Inspirations.” Ross spent two years on the project with mesmerizing results. In what could have been seen as empty eyes looking out from the photographs, Ross captured hidden glimmers of hope that the average person would overlook.

The effort caught the attention of many outside the HSI walls.

The collection won Ross the Advertising Association of Northern Nevada's Community Contribution of the Year Award in 2007 for raising public awareness for the kind of people who work at HSI. Three pieces also were selected and submitted to a juried show in San Francisco. A photo of a disabled woman sitting in a chair with hands pressed to her mouth also won Jeff Ross Photography a Gold Award from The International Journal of Visual Communication, in the 2010 Photography Annual Publication.

For Ross, the time investment paid off, with only part of the time spent actually taking photographs. According to Ross, he spent many days just making people feel comfortable around him.

“That's why something like this takes a year,” Ross said. “That helped a lot to allay some fears that we were there to exploit or expose their vulnerability. They started to say, 'Oh, its just Jeff again. We know what he is about.' Then I could melt away and let them show their personalities.”

Ross is working on melting away into another unnoticed demographic: patients in a local rehabilitation hospital. He is meeting those recovering from spinal cord injuries, strokes, heart attacks and major trauma accidents, just to name a few.

While working on the new project, Ross met Eric, who is now a paraplegic learning to live his life in a wheelchair.

“I asked him one day how he got his injury,” Ross said. “Eric replied, 'I fell out of a two-story window.'"

After a brief pause, Eric corrected his story.

“ 'Actually, Jeff, I jumped, '” Ross recounted. “And there he was, struggling to get his life back now. Fighting for it, actually.”

The rehab center photo project might not be ready for another year, Ross said.

“These things take on a life of their own,” he added. “But we will never tell the whole story. It is constantly changing.”

The Faces of St. Vincent's exhibit is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1 E. First St.