No purchase is necessary to enter the Sitka’s Diverge 14 Photo Contest, and the grand prize winner will net gear worth more than $17,500 from Leica, Sitka, Pelican and Adobe. Now in its 14th year, the event has become one of the most influential visual storytelling platforms in the hunting community, inspiring creativity in sportsmen across the globe.
Top finishers in five categories—big game, whitetail, waterfowl, born from the storms and shot with an iPhone—will claim equipment valued up to $5,000. Plus, each week one judge will highlight a standout submission, discuss what makes the image exceptional and give away a piece of Sitka gear. A total of five giveaways will be awarded during the submission period.
Diverge 14 began Dec. 6, 2025, and runs to Jan. 15, 2026. A public-facing judging period follows from Jan. 16 to Jan. 23. Winners will be announced on Jan. 27.
“Diverge has set the benchmark for visual storytelling in the hunting world for more than a decade, and Leica is proud to support a competition that celebrates authenticity, innovation and craft,” said Ryan Holm, director of marketing at Leica Sport Optics USA. “At its best, photography helps us connect more deeply to the landscapes and wildlife that move us, and Sitka has built a platform that inspires thousands of hunters and creators to push their skills further each year. We’re excited to help elevate that work and support the photographers shaping the future of storytelling through imagery.”
The judging panel features five respected voices in contemporary hunting storytelling: Connor Gabbott, Bianca Germain, Adam Foss, Austin Thomas and Aaron Blatt. Their assessment of images will be based on three core areas: in-camera, which includes composition, focus, lighting and exposure, photo editing and the moment. The latter refers to the emotion, connection, authenticity and novelty of the image. The contest has received more than 15,000 entries in recent years, which makes their task formidable.
There are some superb prizes for the category winners (five in total to include the three sub-categories in the pursuit section) and an overall grand prize winner who will net a package worth more than $17,500.
“Partnering with Leica for the Sitka Diverge Photo Contest is a chance to work directly with one of the most iconic optics and camera brands in the world,” said Haakon Johnson, Sitka creative production lead. “Leica’s craftsmanship has defined how hunters document their pursuits for generations, and its glass delivers a level of truth and precision that can’t be faked. For hunters who are all-in on their trip of a lifetime, whether you’re scouting whitetails from a field edge or being dropped off-grid by float plane, this partnership is about creating imagery that shares the stoke, the suffering, the mountain tops and pits of despair, the moments of reflection and moments of triumph. These are the stories we live for.”
To submit photographs and to vote, visit the Diverge webpage at sitkagear.com. If you need a little inspiration, you can see some of the previous entries here.
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