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In its first photography exhibition since 2019, Vertigo Coffee Roasters is hosting a gallery of images celebrating the ranches, farms and landscapes of San Benito County captured by Hollister photojournalist Jessica Parga.
“We are super thrilled and excited to have art on our walls again,” Vertigo manager Ryan Morris said. “Jessica’s photographs are very reflective of the area and you can feel that connection in these works.”
The title, “Roots,” Parga said, plays on the literal meaning of the roots of the plants and trees in the San Benito landscape as well as the historic roots found in the county’s agricultural and ranching history.
“I wanted to capture the vastness of the areas,” Parga said, “but I also wanted to keep it grounded in the work being done, so there are shots of people working in the fields. I think it is good for people to see where their food comes from, especially as our county grows.”
Parga is a former BenitoLink intern and freelance photojournalist.
Parga’s initial interest in photography came when, in the eighth grade, she got what she considered her first good shot.
“I had a little slide phone with a keypad on one side,” she said. “I took that shot and thought, ‘This is fun.’ Then I got a Costco kit camera when I was maybe 16, and used it when I was running around with friends.”
Parga began taking the art more seriously when she joined her college newspaper, San Diego State University’s Daily Aztec.
“That is where I fell in love with photojournalism,” she said. “It was a blend of photography and sociology, which I was studying at the time, all about the story and the narrative. I think that in pairing them, I was better able to share experiences with others.”
After graduating, Parga received the only photography internship offered that year at the San Diego Union-Tribune. It was there that she got a substantial resume booster: a photo reprinted in the New York Times.
“I shot the World Lacrosse Championship using the paper’s equipment,” she said. “It was my first time using a Canon camera. I got a shot of the U.S. team colliding with Canada. A day or two later, the editor said the Times wanted to use it. It was definitely an exciting moment.”
Following her internship, Parga kept true to her interest in photography and agriculture, particularly in a job with the Ocean Beach People’s Food Co-op that took her to local farms for marketing photos.
From there, Parga returned to Hollister, accepting an internship at BenitoLink and writing or contributing to more than 50 articles so far. Her most recent story, “Beyond Tolerance,” was illustrated by Brea Spencer, who co-curated “Roots” with Morris, and was co-published with Catchlight, a visual journalism organization.
“It’s a moment that has been keeping me motivated recently,” Parga said, “acknowledging that I wrote and was awarded my first grant through Catchlight. This allowed me to do meaningful and thoughtful reporting on my hometown.”
The connection with Catchlight was maintained through the development of “Roots” as an exhibition. Parga said she sent around 100 photos to Alyssa Schukar, who served as Catchlight’s photo editor on “Beyond Tolerance.”
“She gave me advice about printing, and things to consider when you are trying to sell images,”she said. “You have to strike a balance between what works best in physical media versus digital and the constraint of only having a small number of images to display.”
The photos themselves were also a collaboration, in a way, between longtime agricultural contacts Parga had developed, either through her family farm, Gibson Farm, or other local agribusinesses like Tonascia Farms, and the Hammond and Paicines ranches.
“Whenever I get to be out at the farms,” Parga said, “I feel so grateful to be in the mix for a little while. The work that’s done out there is so important, and it is interesting seeing the whole process up close.”
Parga said she hopes the installation will inspire a sense of pride in the community and curiosity about where the images were taken.
“Paicines Ranch in particular,” she said, “is doing work to be mindful about the environment and regenerative agriculture. I hope it instills appreciation for the hard work laborers do; the people who are out there handpicking your greens and slicing every bundle.”
Parga said that in the future, she would like to continue photographing communities and telling local stories, whether that be in digital formats or in print installations. The show, she said, offers the benefit of reaching audiences and creating conversations in person.
“Maybe people feel seen in the familiarity of these workers, or maybe it sparks curiosity in those that haven’t shared these experiences,” she said. “That’s the powerful thing about art: it allows us to share perspectives.”
Vertigo Coffee Roasters is open from 8 a.m to 7 p.m. at 81 4th Street in San Juan Bautista. “Roots” is on view through August.
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