Conclusion

The photographs taken reveal a great deal about Orkney Auction Mart and the nature of some of the auctions held but it does not tell the complete story as it was conducted only over a short period of time, in March 2009 and even then omitted an Implement Sale and the weekly ordinary Cattle Sales and repeats of the Sheep Sales. To provide the full picture it would be necessary to photograph over an entire year’s cycle and in case the year was extraordinary, over a period of years. That said, whilst the range of sales may vary the project has highlighted some key points about OAM and the procedures for different auctions that are likely to be observable repeatedly at different auctions of similar nature and from that perspective provides a useful insight into OAM. A critical review of the project, its execution and its validity and reliability as a research project will be given separately.