WME Development So Far

The WME local galleries have been going for a few months now, so it seems like a good time to pause and reflect on how the site is developing.

I currently have 11 operational galleries, with 2 (WME Warwickshire and WME Shropshire) currently under development. The galleries altogether add up to about 1000 photos, the majority of which are on WME 1, the testing zone. I am generally pleased with the way the local galleries have taken shape - its slow progress but my WME vision is now starting to become a reality.

A few coments on the local galleries

• WME Wolverhampton: taking shape nicely. There are a number of local area collections which I can build on, and the gallery isn't as transport dominated as some of the others. Rail won't feature so much here because the city only has one operational station.
• WME Birmingham: the gallery seems to be dominated by rail-related collections, so I don't think I've got the balance right, although this is a reflection of the number of local stations there are to explore in Birmingham. I want to include more local area photos, particularly for the north of the city if possible. The gallery is the biggest of the local sites, and I am considering the possibility of splitting off some sections into a new WME Solihull.
• WME Walsall: A useful start, with some starter collections that need a bit of fleshing out. The local area collections tend to concentrate on Bloxwich and Willenhall, reflecting the fact that I visit these areas of Walsall most frequently.
• WME Dudley: Again, just a start but the gallery does seem quite well balanced. Dudley by Bus does seem to focus on buses in Halesowen or Stourbridge though - I would like a few more locations in there. I'd also like to include more on the canals in Dudley, but i'll have to explore them first.
• WME Sandwell: I'm pleased with how the Sandwell site is developing, some useful local coverage. Sandwell by Bus only features 4 locations (West Brom, Wednesbury, Princes End and Great Bridge) so this needs looking at, as does the total lack of canal representation as things currently stand.
• WME Coventry: its been a bit of a struggle to get this gallery going as my visits to Coventry are quite rare. The gallery is dominated by transport collections, with only Radford offering any local area interest. Coventry by Bus is also concentrated very much on the City Centre, so it would be nice to represent the outer locations. I did a couple of visits to Coventry in March so there is the prospect of developing the gallery when I get round to editing those photos.

As well as the local WM galleries, I have also developed some surrounding area galleries to showcase photos from further afield. The main West Midlands regions are my priority areas both in terms of outings and site development, meaning the other WME galleries don't get as much attention.

• WME Staffordshire: there is some substance here, although the gallery does avoid some rather significant chunks of Staffordshire, such as Stafford, Stoke on Trent and Leek - the focus is more on South Staffordshire really. All collections need more development, although the canal collections are building up into a useful archive.
• WME Worcestershire: Just a handful of photos and collections at the moment, presenting a few of the bus and rail photos I have managed to prepare. I will need to do further Worcestershire outings to start addressing the total lack of canal and local area photos in my archive.
• WME Telford and Wrekin: Another starting point but nothing more. Telford by Bus is looking handy, already capturing some of the local routes. The vast majority of photos on the site come from one outing back in August 2004 and I'll need to get back across to Telford before I can offer much more in the way of further progress
• Exploration Extra: just 8 photos so far, I'm keeping the site in the background until I get round to adding to it. Not quite sure what direction this gallery will take in the long term.

As I said, WME galleries for Warwickshire and Shropshire are under development. I only began to photograph these areas during my Rail Rover explorations in March, so I haven't got that much to work with. I might be able to launch Warwickshire some time soon, but Shropshire will need a lot more substance before I can consider a launch date.

Keep your eye on WME1 as I continue to develop and test my photos before transferring them to the appropriate gallery. There are some interesting looking photos in there at the moment which I hope to move onto their local WMEs soon. There could be exciting times ahead...