Finding Comfort In Portraits Of Bostonians

By Becky Lettenberger

Published April 19, 2013 at 4:59 PM EDT

1 of 12 — "I just farted!"

"I just farted!"

2 of 12 — "He was training to be a surgeon when we got married. One night he came home from two days straight on the job, and I'd cooked him dinner. Right before he fell asleep in his plate of food, he asked me what movie I'd like to watch. I thought it was so sweet."

"He was training to be a surgeon when we got married. One night he came home from two days straight on the job, and I'd cooked him dinner. Right before he fell asleep in his plate of food, he asked me what movie I'd like to watch. I thought it was so sweet."

"I'm trying to stay on the Straight and Narrow, but I keep getting caught up in the Booga Wooga."<br /> "What's the Booga Wooga?"<br /> "Everything that's not the Straight and Narrow."

3 of 12 — "I'm trying to stay on the Straight and Narrow, but I keep getting caught up in the Booga Wooga." "What's the Booga Wooga?" "Everything that's not the Straight and Narrow."

"I'm trying to stay on the Straight and Narrow, but I keep getting caught up in the Booga Wooga."
"What's the Booga Wooga?"
"Everything that's not the Straight and Narrow."

"Where'd you grow up?"<br />"We're growing up right now."

4 of 12 — "Where'd you grow up?""We're growing up right now."

"Where'd you grow up?"
"We're growing up right now."

5 of 12 — "My husband died a month ago. I sometimes wish that I'd focused less on the fact that he was dying, and more on the fact that he was still alive."

"My husband died a month ago. I sometimes wish that I'd focused less on the fact that he was dying, and more on the fact that he was still alive."

6 of 12 — "He thinks he can beat The Old Man."

"He thinks he can beat The Old Man."

"If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be?"<br />"Keep your hands to yourself."

7 of 12 — "If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be?""Keep your hands to yourself."

"If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be?"
"Keep your hands to yourself."

8 of 12 — 99% of the time, when I ask someone to tell me their favorite thing about their daughter/father/spouse, they give their answer to me. This man looked his son in the eye and said: "I love that you are so honest."

99% of the time, when I ask someone to tell me their favorite thing about their daughter/father/spouse, they give their answer to me. This man looked his son in the eye and said: "I love that you are so honest."

9 of 12 — "He's good at telling lies to his mother."

"He's good at telling lies to his mother."

"If you could be one age forever, what would it be?"<br />"Thirty or forty. Old enough to know who you are, but young enough that you still have plenty of mountains to climb."

10 of 12 — "If you could be one age forever, what would it be?""Thirty or forty. Old enough to know who you are, but young enough that you still have plenty of mountains to climb."

"If you could be one age forever, what would it be?"
"Thirty or forty. Old enough to know who you are, but young enough that you still have plenty of mountains to climb."

"People need to slow down more."<br />"Do you wish you could slow down more?"<br />"Yes."<br />"What's keeping you?"<br />"The pace of what's expected of me."

11 of 12 — "People need to slow down more.""Do you wish you could slow down more?""Yes.""What's keeping you?""The pace of what's expected of me."

"People need to slow down more."
"Do you wish you could slow down more?"
"Yes."
"What's keeping you?"
"The pace of what's expected of me."

12 of 12 — "One thing I love about computers is that they can't be a Democrat or Republican."

"One thing I love about computers is that they can't be a Democrat or Republican."

Brandon Stanton decided to travel to Boston on Tuesday after one of his Facebook followers suggested he take his signature portrait-plus-anecdote style to the community coping with tragedy.

"I didn't come to depict a city in crisis," he said over the phone, "but to depict the vast majority of the city that is ... getting back on its feet and getting back to normal."

Stanton, 29, is the founder of Humans of New York, a photography project documenting the life of everyday people in New York City. He has dubbed this week "Humans of Boston."

"I found that photographing in Boston is a lot like New York," said Stanton. "There is obviously grief, but also a lot of warmth and even laughter."

And Stanton found humor in the Bostonians he photographed, like the dad who revealed that his son is particularly good at lying to his mom, and the group of kids hanging out on the playground.

These images feel like any other day in Boston, and that's what HONY/HOB provides — a bit of levity and a bit of hope at a time when we need it most.