Colombian Coffee Region — Willys Jeep Mountain Road
217.33 $
A Jeep Willys loaded with coffee sacks on the mountain roads of the Colombian coffee region — the classic American overland vehicle adapted as the standard cargo transport of the Eje Cafetero, winding between bamboo guadua groves.
Description
The Jeep Willys — the standard US military 4WD vehicle of World War II — was introduced to the Colombian coffee region in the 1950s for mountain cargo transport and has remained the primary vehicle of the Eje Cafetero’s narrow mountain tracks ever since, now customised, repainted, and extended by local craftsmen into the distinctive open-sided cargo vehicles that have become cultural icons of the region. This image was made on a secondary road above Salento, the Jeep loaded with 60-kilogram burlap coffee sacks bound for the town cooperative’s collection point, the bamboo guadua grove of the roadside characteristic of the coffee zone’s secondary vegetation. Shot at 1/500 second handheld on a 50mm prime from a hillside position above the road, the Willys fills the centre of the frame with the mountain coffee country context on all sides.
