Untitled Beach

This is my (winning) entry to the Beaches and Seaside comp @ Cornucopia3D & picture of the day at eon-softwares website. I wanted to create a realistic beach scene and avoid all the cliché imagery, i.e. sun umbrellas, palm trees, blue sky etc, so I built an place that I would enjoy if I was a kid again; soft sand, rocks, waves, a dune, trees to climb, etc. The wave was made in Maya, however it was a very simple nurbs surface. I then spent most of my time creating textures esp. the wave which includes a displaced white water. Very little photoshop, just a little tweak and a grade.

Question: Is Digitally rendered imagery art? If so why isn't there a category for it on this website. 

If you wish to see more check out my blog, Zedspace