Orkney Auction Mart - Project Critique

This critique considers how the research project on the Orkney Auction Mart might be assessed as Visual Sociology, paying particular attention, in turn, to validity, reliability and ethics.

The Project aim was to reveal information about Orkney Auction Mart, its function and operation using photography supplemented by text, rather than text illustrated by photographs. For the outcome of the research to have validity the photographs needed to be directly connected with the aim or, if not directly connected, the inclusion of the photographs in the final Project must be justifiable. The assessment is that all photographs included are wholly valid in relation to the Project or are justifiably included. In the latter category are the photograph of the motor cycle learner training area set up in in the car park (see Premises album), the photographs of the lairage facility (see Special Cattle – Lairage album), the loading of sheep onto a four tier lorry (see Sheep – Post-sale Loading album) and the photographs of the half-price saleroom (see Premises album). The training is not directly related to Orkney Auction Mart but it is something that goes on in its car park. The lairage and lairage containers are at a separate location but the transfer of stock from Orkney Auction Mart to the lairage facility for onward shipment by sea is so much a part of the overall processing of cattle sold at auction as to be justifiably included. The same sort of argument applies to the loading of sheep from Orkney Auction Mart directly onto a four tier wagon for shipment South after auction. The half-price goods sale held in a side hall is not run by Orkney Auction Mart but the inclusion of the photographs (see Premises album) is justified as it shows how the Orkney Auction Mart premises are used even if not for an auction.

Reliability is derived from repeated testing with focus on validity. If something is important and a regular feature, repeated photographing will reveal concentration of results enabling inconsistences to be discarded for being just that – inconsistent with the overall pattern. This Project, being carried out for a short study module, was properly conducted but cannot be considered to be totally reliable. An in depth study of Orkney Auction Mart would involve attendance at every auction and every usage of the premises over a full one year cycle and preferably over the cycle repeated over several years. That is not to say that there is nothing reliable about the Project as it was carried out and a few examples may help to put this into perspective. Care was taken to ensure that the photographs were not posed and that people were photographed doing what was natural and not a display for the camera. Some features are permanent such as the structure of the building and its overall layout with public areas and stock pens. The stock pens themselves and the grid pattern of lettering and numbering on the walls are also fairly permanent features. The different shaped stock pen that was the last holding pen before the auction ring but it was not necessary for it to be a different shape for that purpose, leaving a suspicion that it might sometimes serve as a ring for a sale conducted in the stock pen area – perhaps the implement sale not seen. Although the posters and other displays on walls have clearly been up for some time, they are less permanent and could be changed overnight. For the purposes of the Project taking several photographs all of which pointed to cattle auctions as being the main function of Orkney Auction Mart did make that conclusion reliable but for a more major project the same would have to be done on every occasion. It was noted that for the three auctions viewed there were three different Auctioneers but it cannot be extrapolated from that either that each of them always does the same type of sale or that there is a different Auctioneer for every type of sale.

Turning finally to ethics, this concerns the manner in which the photographs were taken. As mentioned under reliabiltiy, none of the photographs were posed but there are issues around taking photographs of people. The manager of Orkney Auction Mart gave permission for photographs to be taken freely on multiple occasions. Other students from Orkney College have done something similar in the past for other purposes and the normal clientelle of the auction house are used to this sort of activity taking place. It would not have been feasible to seek permission from everyone included in photographs and the view on balance was that the auction was a sufficiently public place for photographs to be taken without seeking individual permissions. There was also the point that seeking prior permission individually would influence behaviour and that would have made the Project unreliable. The fact that photography was taking place was obvious to all because the poor lighting meant that flash had to be used and no objections were raised except in one case where a lone individual was caught on the sidelines of a photograph focussing on something else. That photograph has been excluded from the Project. Sufficient photographs were taken from different parts of the public seating area to provide a reasonable impression of how crowded or how quiet the area was on an auction day but intrusion was minimised as much as possible.

To conclude, the overall assessment of the Project is that it is valid, that it is reliable within its limited module context but not carried out over a long enough period to be fully reliable and that it is borderline ethical because permissions could not be sought from everyone appearing in the photographs

Orkney Auction Mart - Project Introduction

This note deals with the execution and presentation of a Visual Sociology project on Orkney Auction Mart (OAM). A separate note, to be added, will provide a retrospective critique of the overall project and its outcome, with particular reference to its validity and reliability as a research project.

For this project, photographs are not used as illustration for points made in the text but instead text is used to comment on what information can be derived from the photographs. To make this meaningful it was necessary to observe to find out what were the important features and then take the photographs that draw attention to that importance. In some cases the photographs taken have been used in the order taken to emphasise the sequence of events but where this did not matter some photographs have been re-ordered to make their presentation more helpful.

The project has been broken down into sections, each of which has a separate heading and notes below. The notes comment only on some key points that can be drawn from the album of photographs for the section but there are short text notes on the photographs themselves to assist the viewer in understanding what was being focussed on as each photograph was taken.

The albums can be accessed by the link at the end of each section and can be viewed either as individual images or a slide show by selecting the album name at the end of the section. If viewing as a slide show it is recommended that the time lapse is set to 8 seconds to allow time for notes that on images to be read.

Orkney Auction Mart - Premises

An orientation visit was made the day before the first auction to gain a general impression of the OAM from its location, of the physical layout of public and controlled access areas and of the features that are signifiers of primary function or of secondary usage. The name Orkney Auction Mart makes it clear that this building is concerned with auctions but there is nothing in the name that reveals what type of auctions these might be. Wandering round the building and taking photographs revealed very emphatically that the primary function is to serve the Orkney cattle farming industry. Evidence that can be seen from the photographs are the ploughshare sculpture at the entrance to the car park, the strength and height of the stock pens, the external slurry tank, stock loading/unloading bays, the type of auction ring with its barriers and sawdust, posters and other items on the walls or displayed and the labelling of an office. Secondary use for a non-auction purpose is indicated by a photograph of a side hall with half-price sale goods displayed.
Premises Album

Special Cattle Sale 2 March 2009 - Pre-sale Processing

The Special Cattle Auction takes place once a month and the reason for it being called ‘Special’ is that buyers come from South to bid whereas for weekly auctions there are mainly local buyers. The cattle section looks in turn at Pre-sale Processing, the Auction, Post-sale Processing and the Lairage.

When viewed from the lower level the stock pen area seemed very confusing, just a mass of barriers which were mostly at the wrong height for the photographer, but when looking down from the first floor balcony the layout and processes became much clearer. Focus at first was on the stock pens and cattle, the control area with its cattle crush and on understanding the process. It was only later, when the photographs were being analysed that the letters and the numbers on the walls were important and that they acted as a grid reference for each stock pen. It also became evident that letters lower than others on the walls signified passage ways instead of pens. Simple but effective. From above it could be seen that there was a different shaped pen which was the last pen before entry to the sale ring. The two discourses that arose were those of power and gender. All those seen in the stock area, apart from self, were men and it was clear that a man in a maroon coat at a central control area and with paperwork was controlling the allocation of lot numbers that were stuck to the rumps of cattle as they passed through a cattle crush next to the control centre.
Special Cattle Pre-Sale Processing Album

Special Cattle Sale 2 March 2009 - Auction

Most people are familiar with the principles of auctions even if they have never been to one. The images in the Special Cattle Auction Album show that for cattle sales there are strong barriers round the perimeter of the ring, which is more a semi circle than a ring, and that the ring is used at full size for cattle. The positioning of the Auctioneer is such that he and the ring in front of him form the natural focal point from every part of the public seating area. An electronic notice board above the Auctioneer’s area signifies the lot being auctioned and relevant details about the breed, weight and seller. The discourses here are several of power relationships and one of gender. Being the focal point and being in an official coat and in control of the microphone emphasises that the Auctioneer is in charge. He controls when ring assistants bring cattle into the ring and let them out of the ring. He conducts the auction process – at a phenomenal pace that could not be captured by still photography. He has power over his assistant, the only female present, who records the sale details when the Auctioneer completes the sale. He does not have power over the price as that power rests with the bidders. Observing the bidders enabled their bidding signals to be identified but the process was so fast that only one bidder could be caught on camera in the act of bidding.
Special Cattle Auction Album

Special Cattle Sale 2 March 2009 - Post-sale Processing

When the cattle have passed through the sale ring they are herded into a narrow channel alongside which are some coloured marker paints/dyes, some paint sticks and some metal letters attached to handles. The cattle are marked as they pass through the channel, according to the buyer. From the channel the cattle pass into holding stock pens until it is time for them to be loaded onto cattle wagons. When observing the cattle being loaded it was noted that the wagons were loaded and away very quickly but soon returned empty. This was puzzling at first but when a wagon had been followed the situation became clearer and is covered in the next section on Lairage. Power and gender discourses were again noted. Only the assistants deal with the cattle after sale and their power is only over the cattle. Again, only men were involved in the post-sale processing.
Special Cattle Post-Sale Album

Special Cattle Sale 2 March 2009 - Lairage Facility

When photographing loading at OAM it was noted that the wagons left and returned empty very quickly. Following one wagonload revealed that the cattle were being taken to a separate lairage building near Hatston Pier. There the cattle were unloaded, passed through into holding pens and then re-loaded onto special new lairage transportation units. These replaced the old style containers that were used to transport cattle by ship to ports in the South, especially to Aberdeen. Again only males were involved and their power was only over the cattle. The lairage units are moved by traction cabs and after loading are taken down to Hatston pier to await loading onto ships. All the units are numbered so that their transit progress can be monitored. They are equipped with hayracks to provide fodder for the cattle while in transit.
Special Cattle Sale Lairage Album

Special Cattle Sale 2 March 2009 - Cafeteria

Photographing in a cafeteria is more intrusive than during the auction and elsewhere in the public areas and so was limited to a few photographs when it was quiet on the Special Cattle Sale day. The gender discourse arises again here, with females being the cafeteria staff and the customers being male. Although not photographed again, on the furniture sale day the cafeteria was much busier and the customers mixed but on that occasion females significantly outnumbered males.
Special Cattle Sale Cafeteria Album

Sheep Sale 4 March 2009 - Pre-sale Processing

The sheep processing procedures differed from those for cattle. Sheep did not pass through the cattle crush. The control and paperwork was still done centrally but this time the lectern had been moved and attached to a barrier alongside a passageway not beside the cattle crush. The sheep were already colour marked according to their owners and would pass through the auction in groups, not singly, and therefore did not have individual lot numbers stuck to their rumps. In this case it was more important to go by stock pen number. There was an isolation unit used once only for two sheep. This may have been to do something to their ear tags but the reason was unclear. It was noticed that aerosal spray cans appeared on the tops of posts on the sheep sale day but whether that was a form of marker or an insecticide could not be seen from the distance.
Sheep Pre-Sale Processing Album

Sheep Sale 4 March 2009 - Auction

On the sheep auction day the auction ring was divided up by putting a barrier across parallel to the Auctioneer’s box but several feet away from it. The part nearest to the Auctioneer was then divided into two sections so that when small groups of sheep entered the ring they could be held in one area for the auction to take place and then moved into the second section to make way for the next lot, before being herded out to their post sale pens. Having small sections made it easier to keep the sheep together and under control and having two sections meant the auction could be conducted more quickly. Information about the lot appeared on the electronic notice board above the Auctioneer’s box. The sheep Auctioneer was not the same as the one for the cattle. Again only one bidder, the same man, could be caught on camera in the act of bidding.
Sheep Auction Album

Sheep Sale 4 March 2009 - Post-sale Loading

Only one very large sheep wagon, from Cumbria, and one small local trailer were used for the sheep to be loaded after sale. Most of the sheep were destined for fattening on green fields in northern England although not all for the same buyers and destinations. The sheep wagon was modern and very cleverly designed with a system of folding floors, side panels that opened and divided to form gates or half gates and hydraulically controlled ramps all of which meant that large numbers of sheep could be loaded in sections on four tiers. The entire process of loading was photographed to show the versatility of the system and it took the best part of an hour to complete the loading of more than three hundred sheep. The album for this section is not for the faint-hearted. The contrast with the small local trailer was very marked.
Sheep Post-sale Loading Album