chevrontexaco

I believe this man is a "juggie." The item in his hand would be known as a "jug" and is an electromechanical device used to pick up vibrations. This sensor is used in geological exploration for oil and gas by sensing reflections. Usually, these "strings" of jugs are laid out in a large grid with sensitive measuring equipment at the end of each string. By setting off explosions the operators are able to map the geological features deep underground to find features likely to contain fossil fuels.

what an excellent photo.

In this picture, they are pumping explosives into a hole. The explosion will be sensed by a sensitive matrix of sensors to map underground formations likely to contain oil. (See previous image)

Thank you, appreciated.

Poor quality digital transfer--the wavy looking lines in the image are caused by the original negative being curved and contacting the glass surface of the digital scanner. I've had this problem myself. You need to re-do this one and find a creative solution to eliminate the distortion. Otherwise, this is a great photo.

We have now rescanned this image and replaced it on Flickr.

SMU Libraries Digital Collections Unfortunately it looks much worse now, to tell you the truth.