Jeremy Charles Photography + Design

Photographer Jeremy Charles looks closely at the people of Topeca Coffee, a farm nestled on the slopes of the Santa Ana Volcano in El Salvador. A family-owned business for over 150 years, Topeca has a unique model wherein they grow, roast and sell their own specialty coffee.

Jeremy Charles focused on the characters of the farm, such as Juan whose family has worked with the Lopez family for generations, the funny ‘El Vaquero’ who’s nickname came from his stylish cowboy hat.

The exhibit opens on Monday April 5th, from 5:30pm – 8:30pm at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Gallery (PAC Gallery), and will hang from March 25 – April 27, 2010.

Light hors d’oeuvres, wine, and of course Topeca Coffee will be served.

More about the Exhibit

I got to know John ‘Chip’ Gaberino III and Margarita Lopez Gaberino by way of my former job, a place where we drank a heck of a lot of Topeca coffee. I was familiar with the rich history of the company, a family-owned and operated coffee business dating back to the 1850s. So when they invited me to visit Las Fincas Ayutepeque and Manzano in El Salvador, I was naturally ecstatic.

Once I settled into the farm and saw firsthand the intricacies of coffee agriculture, I felt a tinge of shame knowing I had too often taken for granted  this substance I consumed daily. The complexities of coffee cultivation were substantial, the process arduous, but I got a sense of something larger happening. After witnessing the driving passion Emilio Lopez had for his family’s legacy, for his farm, for his dedication to growing excellent coffee…it was then that I truly recognized it as Art.

Topeca isn’t just another coffee farm. They practice a “Seed-to-Cup” approach, a term they coined to describe their business model. Topeca coffee starts as a seed, grows in rich volcanic soil, is processed, roasted, and packaged for sale all in the same spot in the valley of the Santa Ana volcano. The same hands that planted the seed are involved throughout the entire process. Those were the hands that interested me.

And so, I decided to focus on the characters of the farm – the people whose lives where intertwined with the very coffee I drank every day. I wanted simply an honest, straightforward look at the folks who make it all happen. And they were good folks, gracious and graceful, always at ease, without pretension. Many of them have worked for Topeca for decades, and their families before them. When they looked into the camera, it was a real moment. And that’s all it needed to be.

About Jeremy Charles

As a photographer, I am fascinated with people, especially those with strong personas. Portraiture is a way to describe my subjects – to create an interpretation of their personalities. Although I’m perhaps best known for my work with artists, especially musicians, I do a wide variety of commercial and fine art photography. I love the split second decision-making of journalism and concert photography, as well as  the meditative process of photographing architecture. But I’m at my best when photographing conceptual editorial portraiture.