I happily stumbled across Estonian photographer Alexander Gronsky's work last night and was so moved by his work that I browsed his website and Flickr sets into the early hours (feeling slightly like an internet stalker in the process). It's just wonderful stuff. Sharing this find with a friend today, he commented "it's the sort of work that makes you half sick with envy and half wanting to rush out into the street with your camera".

Moscow, 2009, Alexander Gronsky’s “Pastoral”

Moscow, 2009, Alexander Gronsky’s “Pastoral”


Moscow, 2009, Alexander Gronsky’s “Pastoral”

Unsurprisingly he's an award winner, represented by the agency photographer.ru and most recently swooping the Aperture Portfolio Prize and Linhof Young Photographer Award. He's based in Moscow and his work seems concerned with outermost regions.... border country and the fragile blur between population density and wilderness. Oh, and for the geeks (me included) he shoots 6x7 medium format ( told you I was stalking).

Oddly, his work reminds me of Pieter Bruegel, there's a painterly quality in his skeletal landscapes, and the same figurative scale and colour palette.

Pieter Bruegel the elder, Winter Landscape with Skaters and Bird Trap, 1565