In the vast, snow-blanketed expanses of Russia's hinterlands, where the population density dips below one person per square kilometer, Alexander Gronsky's lens captures more than mere landscapes—it reveals the silent dialogues between absence and presence, isolation and memory.

His series, Less Than One (2006–2009), traverses these desolate terrains, offering a visual meditation on the remnants of human habitation and the haunting stillness that envelops them.

Gronsky, born in Tallinn in 1980 and based in Moscow, is renowned for his landscape photography that delves into the interplay between environment and human emotion. In Less Than One, he documents regions where human footprints are scarce, yet their imprints linger—abandoned playgrounds, solitary ferries, and scattered debris narrate stories of lives once lived and the voids they've left behind.

The series is characterized by its minimalist aesthetic, dominated by the whiteness of snow and the monotony of the landscape, which Gronsky uses to evoke feelings of unease and introspection. He describes the intended emotional response as akin to "thoughtless staring with a vague sense of unease at an undefined point somewhere in space."

Gronsky's approach challenges traditional landscape photography by infusing it with narrative depth and socio-political commentary. His images do not merely depict empty spaces; they question the socio-economic forces that lead to such desolation, reflecting on post-Soviet identity and the human cost of industrial decline. Gronsky invites viewers to confront the spaces between presence and absence, urging a contemplation of the silent narratives etched into the frozen Russian terrain.

The critical acclaim for Less Than One culminated in Gronsky receiving the Foam Paul Huf Award in 2010, recognizing his innovative contributions to contemporary photography.