It won an award for AI images. Just one problem: It was a real photo.

For about two years, the 38-year-old globe-trotting photographer had been mulling over the "surreal photo of an already surreal-looking type of bird" he had shot in the pristine beach off the coast of Aruba. That sunny day, Astray had left around 5 a.m. on the first boat bound to the tiny island known for its flock of flamingos, hoping to beat the crowds. When he got there, he spotted a bright pink bird "doing its morning routine" and cleaning its feathers, he said. The "very lucky shot" captured the flamingo mid-belly scratch.