Syracuse photographer Rhys Harper admits he didn't know what transgender was growing up in a small Oklahoma town. Now he wants to open the eyes of people outside the LGBTQ community and erase the stigma and mystery surrounding people who trans-identify.

Harper recently launched "The Transcending Gender Project," a photo series aimed at celebrating the lives of transgender and gender-nonconforming people.

"When I started thinking about doing this was before I started transitioning myself, and I knew that I wanted to capture transgender people and gender-nonconforming people in a way that [shows their lives]," Harper said in an interview with syracuse.com and The Post-Standard.

"I feel like people here are, like, 'Oh, this person's transgender' and immediately this wall goes up because they don't understand, or because they're afraid, or because they have preconceived notions because of religion, or culture or whatever it may be."

Kayla appears in 'Transcending Gender,' a photography series by Rhys Harper of Syracuse that showcases the lives of transgender and gender-nonconforming people.

So Harper wants to break down that wall by showcasing the beauty of trans people in their everyday lives or jobs. His black-and-white collection includes pictures of a university professor, a former U.S. sailor, a financial trader, a musician, a stand-up comedienne and a high school student.

But he wants to do more.

Harper started an IndieGoGo fundraising campaign to go bigger with his project, raising awareness by photographing a wider variety of transgender people outside of New York. He's interested in capturing minorities, immigrants and more subjects with different backgrounds.

"I just wanted to do something community oriented," Harper explained. "I think it's harder for trans-women of color to be out and visible because of violence and preconceived notions... that are totally unfounded."

He wants to raise $7,500 by July 28 to cover travel expenses and printing costs, and eventually turn "Transcending Gender" into a book.

"People like photographs, they can connect to them," he said. "Photographs can really change people and change the way they see [other] people and change the way they think about things."

Jesse appears in 'Transcending Gender,' a photography series by Rhys Harper of Syracuse that showcases the lives of transgender and gender-nonconforming people.

"I would like to get this into people's hands that are outside the LGBT community that don't know anything about what transgender is or don't think they know anybody who's transgender even though they probably do and just don't know it."

He'd also like to experiment with more public art, such as how Kanye West premiered his new music video as images projected on the sides of buildings in New York City and other cities last year.

Harper left Oklahoma to study photography and design in NYC, but has made Central New York his home for the past two years. He told Britain's The Daily Mail he moved to Syracuse after meeting his wife, Crystal, through OkCupid.

He's also shared his story with Huffington Post to help get the word about his project. It's important to him that no one grows up feeling lost and lonely like he did.

"If I had just even known that transgender existed, I think it probably would have made me feel not as alone," Harper said of his childhood in the Midwest. "I always knew that I was different and I just thought I was weird. I was like 'Man I'm just weird, and I have no idea why I feel so differently, I don't know what it is.'"

Syracuse photographer Rhys Harper in a self-portrait.

"I struggled a lot, not very many friends in high school, kind of getting bullied -- high school was really rough. But even if I was in an environment where I couldn't have done anything about it, I think just knowing about it would've really helped."

Harper adds that transgender celebrities like 2014 Eurovision contest winner Conchita Wurst, "RuPaul's Drag Race" star Carmen Carrera and "Orange is the New Black" actress Laverne Cox have helped raise awareness, too.

"Laverne Cox was just on the cover of Time magazine, that is insane," he exclaimed. "I think the fact that they're pioneering and leading this movement to... raise visibility for people who trans-identify or are gender nonconforming has started the conversation, so I do think it makes things easier."

Harper's work will be shown in an exhibit opening Nov. 8 at the ArtRage Gallery on 505 Hawley Avenue in Syracuse.

For more information, visit www.transcendinggender.org. To donate to his crowdfunding page, visit indiegogo.com/projects/the-transcending-gender-project.