New Haven doesn’t get a lot of love from those unfamiliar with its charms. Its name, to those who aren’t in the know (and, frankly, many of those who are), brings to mind crime and grime. “People in my grandmother’s generation still can’t believe I live in New Haven,” says Jeffrey Kerekes, who has lived in the Elm City for a decade. “This guy told me he doesn’t go out after dark, and I laughed, because I thought he was joking.” He wasn’t.

To combat that negative image, Kerekes and neighbor Chris Randall created a blog called “I Love New Haven.” The blog features photographs of New Haven events and community life, with recent posts including photos of parties, fundraisers, protests, festivals, and kickball tournaments. “Perception is reality for a lot of people,” says Kerekes. “We wanted there to be positive stuff in the media about positive stuff here.” Since its inception last September, the blog has earned around 2,500 hits on an average day, and its Facebook page has nearly 1,500 likes.

The blog allows Kerekes and Randall to deepen their connections even further with the New Haven community, in which they were already majorly involved. Kerekes, a psychotherapist in New Haven, came in at a close second to DeStefano in last fall’s mayoral election, with 45 percent  of the vote. Randall was the executive director of the New Haven Land Trust until last January, when he began working as a full-time photographer. “The website enables me to have a presence and gives me even more exposure to great people doing great things in communities that I wouldn’t necessarily be exposed to,” says Randall.

Every Wednesday, the website features submissions from a guest contributor. On Wed., Apr. 3, Damian Weikum, CC ’15, posted some of his photos to the site. Most were shot around Yale’s campus in the days after Nemo. “It’s one of my first publications for photos and hopefully it leads to bigger things in the future,” says Weikum, an aspiring photographer.

For the future, the blog’s creators are conjuring up new projects beyond the website—maybe a book, gallery shows, or expansion into neighboring townships. But for now, they are content to create good cheer about their town. “When people start seeing there’s all these cool things happening, it makes them happier, step back, and reassess,” says Kerekes. “They stop and say, ‘Hey, it’s a pretty cool place.’ I had no idea this stuff was going on. It’s a unique opportunity to show people. My goal is to change perceptions.”