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Miles Astray

@milesastray

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a world, a pen, a camera
Don't follow me. I'm going nowhere.

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F L A M I N G O N E just made a live-telly appearance on CNN International’s First Move, and that beautiful beast let me tag along for a little interview with the fabulous Julia Chatterley. Thanks for having us, Julia!
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@jchatterleycnn @cnn
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#flamingone #CNN #milesastray by @milesastray

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2 years ago

Hey guys, I just wrote a commentary for Fortune. Check it out if you’re curious about some in-depth insights into the F L A M I N G O N E story and its implications, along the lines of “Point made. Now what?” Link in bio.
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#flamingone #1839awards #AI #fortune #milesastray by @milesastray

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2 years ago

Nature still outdoes the machine and you helped prove it! My picture F L A M I N G O N E won the People’s Vote and a Jury Award in the AI category of @1839awards – the twist: the photo is not AI-generated. After the reveal, organizers had a surprising reaction that made my day. Stop by my news section for the full scoop or read on for the gist.
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reclaiming the brAIn
how my real photo won an AI award
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milesastray.com/news/newsflash-reclaiming-the-brain

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With AI-generated content remodelling the digital landscape rapidly while sparking an ever-fiercer debate about its implications for the future of content and the creators behind it, I entered this actual photo into the AI category of 1839 Awards to prove that Mother Nature and her human interpreters can still beat the machine, and that creativity and emotion are more than just a string of digits.

After seeing AI-generated imagery outshine actual photos in competitions, it occurred to me that I could twist this story inside down and upside out the way only a human could and would, by submitting a real photo into an AI contest.

There were ethical concerns, of course, so I was hoping that the jury and the audience would find that this jab at AI and its ethical implications outweighs the ethical implications of deceiving the viewer, which, of course, is ironic because that is what AI does.

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After revealing F L A M I N G O N E' S true nature to the organizers, my entry was disqualified, which is a decision I support fully. The surprise was the organizers' reaction: Lily Fierman, Co-Founder and Director of 1839 Awards, remarked that she appreciates the powerful message and that it was an important and timely statement. "We hope this will bring awareness (and a message of hope) to many photographers worried about AI," she said. Her words made my day more than any of the press articles that were published since.

The imagery submitted to the contest was outstanding across all categories, which also speaks to the jury’s keen eyes, so I am truly humbled to have been part of it. Thank you, 1839 Awards and everyone!!

Miles
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#milesastray #1839awards #FLAMINGONE by @milesastray

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2 years ago

The American dream is becoming a fantasy not everybody can afford to indulge anymore. Adjusted for inflation, post-Boomer generations might have to dream a little smaller. Or a little differently. But a modest dream is not a bad dream. Modesty is a virtue. Modesty is sustainability. Modesty is peace.
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AMERICAN DREAMER | That moment after waking up from the American dream.
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NYC / USA · 2025
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one image, one line:
milesastray.com/lines
(link in bio) taken in USA by @milesastray

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a day ago

The pyramids are unbelievable. So is the proximity of the nearest Pizza Hut. Unbelievable how close and how far we’ve come.
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C̶ I̶ V̶ I̶ L̶ T R I V I A L i z a t i o n
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Giza / Egypt · 2023
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one image, one word:
milesastray.com/words
(link in bio) taken in Pyramids Giza, Egypt by @milesastray

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3 days ago

Something about the passage of time.
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TIME SHARDS | Then I slowly turned around, wiped the dust off my shoulders, and started picking up those time shards. The youthful beyonds and coastal frontiers, where we shed wasted fears with our liquor tears. Disposable second selves we stole from supermarket shelves, honest robberies with indifferent intentions, our knuckles still so shy. Those bright nights of twisted neon lights and burning turns, when muddy visions made for handsome decisions. The way molten words dripped from our fire lips and galactic hopes boiled in our kettle hearts. Browsing for some sort of soul at the nearest heaven, blind break-ins at the wrong gates, trespassing artists with wings for feet. Just once more I want to climb onto those rolling stones that were our shaky thrones, put on my filthy crown to cover this metallic frown, find golden change in my leaky pockets, drink from rusty faucets, bathe in the flickering dreams of emerald streams where I sing my silent song so long so long, march deaf to the gong through those lava marshlands, sinking into the dawn with a most innocent yawn.
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Germany · 2025
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milesastray.com/passages taken in Germany by @milesastray

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5 days ago

Eternal like history itself, the Rome that was is still the Rome that is, and hopes run high that its historic endurance will never get old. It's a city of progressive preservation, wedding past with future through everyday ceremonies. Never and nowhere have I seen so many tiny, fuel-efficient cars, necessitated by the very age of the city with its narrow alleys and near-impossible parking puzzles.

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My latest newsletter looked at the European Union as a blueprint for humanity's multilateral survival. Check out the online version to explore idealism across open borders: milesastray.com/news (link in bio) taken in Rome, Italy by @milesastray

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8 days ago

Being Europe's most densely populated capital isn't exactly a win. With intensifying heat waves washing over the region, it's a challenge that has urban planners sweating. But Paris' last mayor accepted the challenge and championed climate-resilience strategies to make the city Europe's greenest.
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My latest newsletter looks at the EU as a blueprint for humanity's multilateral survival. Check it out to explore idealism across open borders: milesastray.com/news (link in bio) taken in Paris, France by @milesastray

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10 days ago

With an unparalleled density of countries and cultures and capitals clustered together, there's a lot to love about Europe, and all of it within easy reach once you're there. But what's more is the idealism behind that grand diplomatic project: the concept of cooperation over conflict—in a part of the world that had been famously belligerent up until WW2. Learning lessons isn’t humanity's strong suit, but that one stuck. For now. The European Union is threatened from within. Domestic right-wing populism is attacking the borderless community. First Brexit, then Who’s-Next-It.
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read on: milesastray.com/news (link in bio) taken in Europe by @milesastray

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12 days ago

In a polarized world where truth is relative, common sense is common ground. Drop your notions and follow the logic.

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In his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed a “simple truth:”

"Here is the simple truth. Israel didn't commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide. And that's exactly, that's exactly what Mr. Mamdani's Hamas buddies would have done to us, had we not stopped them. They would have killed every last one of us."

Does that make sense? Common sense?

Hamas is a terrorist group with rifles and rockets. Israel is a nation with one of the world’s most powerful and advanced militaries—jets, helicopters, and drones, warships and submarines. Before the war, Hamas had around 30,000 fighters, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. The IDF has an active personnel of 170,000 soldiers, and a reserve personnel of 465,000.

Hamas killed 1,195 Israelis during its October 7 attacks. That’s 0.01 % of the country’s Jewish population. In response, Israel has killed 75,000 Palestinians so far. That’s 3.6 % of Gaza’s population. That is, if the intention of either side was genocide, Israel is 360 times closer to accomplishing that objective.

So, how does a militant group commit genocide against a nation? It doesn’t. Because it’s impossible. That's the simple truth.

Nothing like that has ever happened in the history of mankind, nor will it ever. Because it doesn’t make sense—common sense.

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explore (link in bio):
milesastray.com/reverse-genocide taken in New York City by @milesastray

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15 days ago

PRETTY PRISON | Nothing more imprisoning than putting a bird in a cage, I thought to myself, crawling up and down my own cage with clipped wings.
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Paris / France · 2022
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milesastray.com/lines taken in Paris, France by @milesastray

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17 days ago

No home doesn’t mean no dignity.
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O U T E R I O R D E S I G N
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Paris / France · 2024
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explore more (link in bio):
milesastray.com/words taken in Paris, France by @milesastray

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19 days ago