it is because of the above arguments, that we chose david as the judge, he is professional and would not allow prejudices to impair his judgement in choosing the best image. please read his critique of 24 images in coming issues of S&T where he will explain his assessments.
nonetheless and quite simply, in an open competition, studio, captive or wildlife shots are all acceptable. if a judge held prejudices against studio or artistic styles, the competition would not be fair. for obvious reasons, we have to provide a fair competition.