Capturing America While He Still Can

While photographer Holt Webb travels the United States, documenting sites in danger of vanishing from the American landscape, his wrap job will make him stand out.

From now until 2010, Webb will be snapping pictures of everything from endangered wildlife to dwindling small towns, from significant architecture to Alaska’s receding glaciers.

Webb’s Winnebago was wrapped by the Anaheim branch of Buswraps.com Inc. Installers used 3M’s 180C, a long-term vinyl, with a UV overlaminate to protect against various weather conditions. A 3M perforated window film was also used. The wrap, which features Webb’s pictures of the Okefenokee Swamp, was designed with Adobe Photoshop CS3. “The gorgeous photos that he is staking his name on made a wonderful backdrop for his RV graphics, and the overall look of the RV is quite striking,” said Buswraps’ Scott Thomas.

But Webb wasn’t about to drive around the country in some gas-guzzler. He adapted his RV into an environmentally friendly motor home by installing solar panels to charge all his electronics. The engine can reuse the dirty vegetable oil he picks up from restaurants, which makes for interesting exhaust fumes. “If you get the oil from a Chinese place, it’s going to smell like wontons,” he quipped. “If you get it from a bakery, you’re going to have cops following you all day.”

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Webb often takes the back roads so he can study the countryside. He occasionally avoids staying overnight in RV lots for the same reason, which also gives people a chance to see the vehicle. “People come up to me all the time to say they saw me on the news or in the paper,” he said.

This wrapped, green RV is ferrying Webb to every state except Hawaii. He’s meeting with Smithsonian representatives to learn more about endangered species and ecosystems. He’s talking with the Atlanta Preservation Center about historical sites set for demolition. And he’s getting more suggestions by the day. “I’m learning so many things on this trip. People email me all the time,” he said.

Webb is blogging about his adventures at www.vanishingamerica.net.