What started as a hobby for Vancouver Island resident Sara Kemper has now landed her on the pages of one of Canada鈥檚 most prominent geographical magazines.

A few months ago, Kemper, who grew her interest in photography into her own business, submitted an image online into Canadian Geographic鈥檚 What is Home re: Location Photo Competition. On Jan. 15, the magazine announced it selected Kemper鈥檚 image as their first-place winner.

鈥淚t鈥檚 such a highly regarded publication and it鈥檚 such an honour,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 got an email to confirm that it was my image and it wasn鈥檛 digitally altered, so I鈥檝e known for about two weeks, but I didn鈥檛 say anything because honestly, I didn鈥檛 believe it.鈥�

Kemper, who worked as an education assistant for students with special needs, found herself with some time on her hands as a result of the pandemic. She pivoted and spent more time on her business, focusing on landscapes, lifestyle, sport and nature photography.

Born in the Comox Valley and a resident of Cumberland, Kemper explained living in the Valley 鈥渋s such a privilege; I love to capture the essence of who we are.鈥� About two or three years ago, Kemper snapped a photo while visiting her parents at the property she grew up on at Seal Bay by the ocean.

The photo is an homage to her childhood and she recalled running around on the logs as a child.

鈥淚 wanted to create an image as a tribute to show where I grew up and how I spent so much of my childhood - it influenced my lifestyle and photography - it鈥檚 a very personal image.鈥�

Canadian Geographic launched the contest as part of their educational project on relocations in Canada. They asked their readers: 鈥渨hat does home mean to you?鈥�

They received hundreds of entries showing homes, backyards, neighbourhood parks, family members and pets. Their judges chose a first, second and third place entry whose photo and caption both depicted the feeling of what 鈥榟ome鈥� means.

鈥淚 will be forever grateful for this beach and all it taught me,鈥� wrote Kemper in her caption.

She shared her winning entry on her Facebook page, and since then she said there has been an overwhelming outpouring of support. She added numerous people and businesses are sharing the photo and credited small businesses in Cumberland and throughout the Valley for supporting one another.

As for the future, Kemper said she鈥檚 looking at developing her content and brand while continue to pursue sports photography.

To view the 鈥榃hat is Home鈥� contest, visit

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