Words by

Hrefna Björg Gylfadóttir

Dear Instagrammers, photographers and readers. Thank you for all of your wonderful submissions in our #GVpics Instagram contest. It is always such a joy scrolling through the wonderful photographs of buildings, animals, venues and trips around the country.

The pictures for this week’s contest all have one thing in common—beautiful, strong colours. Landscapes are dominating, and most of the pictures are filled with snow and ice—but spring is coming, as some entries show. Here’s the shortlist:

An often-photographed waterfall, but a unique shot.

The amazing Godafoss in the north of Iceland! #iceland #godafoss #waterfall

A photo posted by Living In Iceland (@livinginiceland) on Feb 23, 2016 at 6:49am PST

A lovely shot of Justin Bieber’s favorite spot in Iceland.

Inside the crashed plane at Sólheimasandur Beach. #markmartucciphoto #icelandtravel #bestoficeland #niceland #instamood #instatravel #sólheimasandur #iceland #visiticeland #southiceland #moody #everydayiceland #instagood #natgeo #stayandwander #destination #adventureinspired #planecrash #travelphotography #wanderlust #lifeofadventure #optoutside #gvpics #mystopover #adventure #bestoftheday #lonelyplanet #tripiniceland #passionpassport #visualsoflife

A photo posted by mark martucci (@markmartucciphoto) on Feb 29, 2016 at 5:01am PST

Hey wait, this isn’t Iceland! That’s cheating!

A quiet afternoon

A photo posted by Romain Loubeyre (@romain_loubeyre) on Feb 27, 2016 at 1:40am PST

Their breath stinks.

nose to nose #selfie #horse #iceland #friends #GVpics

A photo posted by Ewa (@ewson_m) on Feb 27, 2016 at 8:29am PST

Ice and all things nice.

Heading into a glacier. This really puts the ice in ICEland!

A photo posted by Shing Yoong (@theculturemap) on Feb 24, 2016 at 7:54am PST

OMG! Sun!

Office sunshine! ☀️✌️#icelandicwinter #phdlife #gvpics

A photo posted by Charla Basran (@cjbasran) on Feb 25, 2016 at 10:31am PST

Snow looks beautiful—until you fall on your face trying to catch the bus.

Kinda like winter, kinda want spring already ? #исландия #инстаграмнедели #instagramrussia #vsco #vscocam #vscogood #vscorussia #reykjavik #whatsonrvk #babystasjalivesiniceland #instagramrussia #ísland #iceland #ig_iceland #icelandair #icelandairinfo #livefolk #scandinaviaclub #igersiceland #mystopover #gvpics

A photo posted by Stasia Andreeva (@sundays_and_tea) on Feb 27, 2016 at 1:39pm PST

This tourist skipped the Golden Circle and ran straight to Mjölnir. Our kind of gal.

#Shhh #secret #visit to #Mjölnir #Iceland #travel #traveler #worldtraveler #worldtravel #jetset #jetsetter #jetsetting #vacation #holiday #wanderlust #globetrotting #instatravel #flashpacking #ajetsetlifestyle #travelblogger #WhatsOnRvk #GVpics #asianchicks #italianprincess #megcarriero #brazilianjujitsu #bjj #mma #mixedmartialarts #gunnarnelson

A photo posted by @ajetsetlifestyle on Feb 29, 2016 at 3:55pm PST

This is an unrealistic portrayal of Icelandic women. Most of us are not this tan.

Icelandic Barbie. #iceland #gvpics #icelandexplored #icelandicdesign

A photo posted by @21lo on Feb 27, 2016 at 8:45am PST

This is actually the most beautiful thing about driving in Iceland in the winter time, drifting snow.

Into the wild #Iceland

A photo posted by GUNNAR FREYR (@icelandic_explorer) on Feb 25, 2016 at 11:58am PST

And The Winner Is:

This beautiful cat had to win. After all, standoffish fluffy cats are one of Reykjavík’s defining characteristics.

Iceland 2015 ‖ Day 10. Last day. Good morning Reykjavík cat! #travel #Iceland #ísland #reykjavik #reykjavík #cat #townscape #GVpics #icelandtravelgroup #film #filmphotography #FM2

A photo posted by minä (@hvittlandslag) on Feb 23, 2016 at 3:07am PST

Congratulations hvittlandslag! You have a T-shirt and goodie bag waiting for you.

And thanks for your wonderful photographs, dear readers and Instagrammers—keep tagging your pics with #GVpics for a chance to win the weekly Instagram competition.