A photo bank to discover Mauritius
Kurt François, web developer and photographer, conceived Explora.mu, a non-commercial website, to promote the landscapes of Mauritius while offering the possibility to photographers to make themselves known. Launched since the beginning of July, Explora.mu has reached an average of 400 visitors per day, and intends to evolve further with challenges to photographers very soon.
Explora.mu is a new website launched in early July. It offers free downloadable photos of Mauritius in high definition. It is aimed at all profiles. The objective of this project, imagined and designed by Kurt François, is to meet all requests by acting as an intermediary between the visitor and the service provider. "Behind this approach, Explora.mu also wants to contribute to boost the visibility of Mauritius abroad. Knowing that since July 15, the border is open, the site is a showcase for those seeking information on our island. The idea has been in my mind for a while and it is the confinement that allowed me to develop it" . Indeed, each photo of the site, only landscapes, has a dedicated page where we find the title, the description, associated words as well as relative photos that are more or less similar to the search.
In addition to the will to be a stock photo website, Explora.mu was concretized to make it possible to the photographers to be made known by putting on line their photos for free.
"It has been several months that many photographers, not having events to cover, can't work. So the site is a way for them to get known since visitors will have the opportunity to be contacted by visitors". Apart from the search and download option, the visitor also has the possibility to comment and rate each photo.
A site easy to explore and use
The concept is very simple to use. All you have to do is enter keywords such as beach, flowers, mountains, among other examples. For those who wish to download the pictures, you will have to register to the site. The photos are then available, free of charge and in high resolution, with the only condition to add the credit to Explora and the photographer.
On the photographer's side, nothing too complicated. Each photo will have its name and a link. By clicking on it, the visitor will be immediately directed to his dedicated page on Explora.mu, with his photo, a description of his career and access to his Instagram account, Facebook, or other website. Kurt François specifies "the photographer has the choice to put or not his photos for download".
To date, Explora.mu has been sponsored by the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation and the Bluer Ocean Project. It contains 400 photos, of which 700 are available for download, since for each photo there is an original version and a wallpaper version. They are all by Kurt François, who by the way, invites other photographers to join his site. Especially since Explora.mu will soon launch challenges on specific themes with prizes to be won.
Translated in English
Original French Version Page 33 - 37
By Annabelle Rose | Week-end Scope
03 August 2021
