Walter J. Lubken (1882–1960) was an official

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

for the

United States Reclamation Service The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

(USRS) from 1903 to 1917. During these years, Lubken took thousands of photographs documenting the Reclamation Service's

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

projects across the American West. He recorded the progress of

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...

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. Traveling with his large

camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...

and glass-plate negatives, he documented 25 projects in 17 Western States. After leaving the Reclamation Service in 1917, Lubken left professional photography until the 1930s, when he photographed the building of

Boulder Dam #REDIRECT Hoover Dam Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression a ...

. Lubken's photographs capture both

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

feats and everyday life in the early 20th-century West. His optimistic images impress the viewer with the technological and social advances made by westerners. They make the point that progress and community had come to isolated, formerly barren places, and that abundant opportunities awaited those willing to move west and work hard on the reclaimed land. Walter was born Walter John Lubken, the fourth of six children on 24 August 1882 in

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...

, to George Lubken, a German baker from New York City, and Hellena Aldelmann. He married Alice Cornelia (Hoagland) Hall, a divorcee, the daughter of John Aaron Hoagland (1861–1929) and Harriet Maria Louditt Rupp (1862–1949), of

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

fame, on 4 December 1911 in

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

. They had no children, but Walter did assist in the raising of Alice's only child by her former marriage to Alva Archer Hall (1877–1942). After photography, Walter went back to a former career working as a dry goods store clerk, which profession he apparently was more proud of than his short stint with fame as the "Government Photographer," and died quietly in his home town of Boise some time in June 1960 at the age of 77 according to the 1 July 1960 AP Wire.

References

National Archives and Records Administration

External links

1882 births 1960 deaths 20th-century American photographers United States Bureau of Reclamation personnel {{US-photographer-stub

References

Further reading

External links