High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Walter J. Lubken (1882-1960) was an official photographer for the United States Reclamation Service (USRS) from 1903 to 1917. During these years, Lubken took thousands of photographs documenting the Reclamation Service`s irrigation projects across the American West. He recorded the progress of construction projects as well as USRS machinery and personnel. The agency also asked Lubken to photograph nearby towns and farms for a series of articles designed to promote settlement on land reclaimed from the desert through irrigation.