Railroad yards and lush green bogs. Walkways and buildings in Ship Creek. Scenes of downtown and local parks.

If you didn't know any better, you'd think the pictures displayed at Moose A'la Mode in downtown Anchorage was just another First Friday exhibition on street art, but talk to the artists who took them, and the works take on a whole new perspective.

The photos were all taken by guests of the Brother Francis Shelter. All of the photographers are homeless. Part of the "Pix: A Call to Look" project, the photos document common sites in Anchorage, from the A Street Bridge and the Atwood Building, to tunnels on the Coastal Trail and ducks in front of a Tudor road pond. But some photos give away a little more about their creators:

• Two people sleeping outside of the shelter;

• A messy camp at the top of a hill;

• A spray painted body outline that says "hobo's (sic) sleep here."

The images are powerful and to some degree, empowering, according to Brother Francis Program Manager Lisa Caldeira.

Caldeira said shelter life can often be monotonous. She said with everyone so focused on finding basic needs like food, clothes, shelter and jobs, creativity often gets lost in the process. Caldeira was inspired by projects like Chicago's "After Supper Visions" and the documentary "Born into Brothels," among others.

"Plus, as corny as it sounds, all those movies you see where they interject art into a population that's marginalized to give them a new breath of air and life into their days," she said on the inspiration for the project.

So Caldeira and a small group mobilized to get 72 cameras to 41 shelter guests. Over the course of four months, participants were invited to work on their shots with local professional photographers. Those photographers gave them tips, basic photography advice and encouraged participants to look at the world in a different way.

With that advice Caldeira said some guests went on little adventures that took them out of their usual paths. Others stayed close and photographed familiar scenes.

Caldeira said it started a different type of conversation at the shelter, something where staff and the community could focus on people's interests instead of immediately focusing on what they need.

"It's something a little bit positive," she said. "I've had guests come to me and say they appreciate it."

The secondary goal of the project is to get the larger Anchorage community engaged in a different kind of conversation about the homeless.

"Here's a group of people who are often marginalized, but are a focal point of the community," Caldeira said. "Now we're having an opportunity to hear directly from them."

The show includes 46 matted prints available for purchase, with 100 percent of those sales going back to the artist. Other images will be available for purchase as well, with proceeds of those sales going back into the project. Caldeira said the hope is to keep the project going and to maybe in a few years to have enough images populate a show large enough for a space like the Anchorage Museum.

The show opens at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, at Moose A'La Mode in downtown Anchorage. The photos will be on display all month.