Words by

Jóhanna Pétursdóttir

It’s obvious that winter is approaching here in Iceland, while everywhere else in Europe you’ll melt in a second. But the cold doesn’t lessen the country’s beauty—it just takes a quick soar over Instagram to remind me of that.

Here are our selections from this week’s entries. Wanna enter your own picture? Tag your photographs with the hashtag #GVPics.

This week’s runners-up are:

From black to blue, to red, to green.

#vsco #vscocam #vscojournal #vscotravel #vsconature #vscogreen #artisick #atmosphere #photography #scandinaviaclub #iceland #ig_iceland #livefolk #gvpics #icelandtrip #icelandair #wheniniceland #icelandsecret #icelandadventure #mystopover #igersiceland #whatsonrvk #Ísland #everydayiceland #wildernessculture #passionpassport #greatnorthco #liveauthentic

A photo posted by Ira Zaslavskaya (@irihisss) on Sep 14, 2016 at 1:15am PDT

Fluffy dogs of Reykjavík. #FDOR?

As primarily a cat photographer, I sometimes make exceptions for cute dogs. #dogsofreykjavik #boodog #cuteoverload #gvpics #reykjavik

A photo posted by Jessica Bowe (@jrbowe) on Aug 28, 2016 at 8:55am PDT

This picture could have been in colour, the beach would still be black.

I’ll be posting Iceland pics for the next 20 years! Reynisfjara…near Vik. ?? #GVpics

A photo posted by Peter Steinborner (@twodogs510) on Sep 14, 2016 at 2:47pm PDT

Colourful flowers surround Tjörnin lake.

Haustið og tjörnin ??? . . . . . . #Haust #fall #season #instagram #vsco #vscocam #reykjavík #reykjavikloves #tjörnin #Flowers #natureiceland #nature #flowerpower #ig_iceland #church #fríkirkjan #reykjavikcity #travel #winteriscoming #icelandic #iceland #gvpics #instalike #photographers #photography

A photo posted by Sóla ? (@solruningva) on Sep 14, 2016 at 5:48am PDT

This guy knows what’s up.

My fearless Icelandic Guide takes a timeout. We took an hourlong hike to Hveragerthi, the hot river spilling out of the mountainside in the southern rim of Iceland. #Iceland #backpacking #rei1440project #hot #nature #hotsprings #europe #travel #gvpics @rvkgrapevine

A photo posted by Joelle Pearson (@joelle_pearson) on Sep 12, 2016 at 5:46am PDT

Street art everywhere.

Stunning #muralart #reykjavik #streetart #iceland #tryggvagata #graffitiigers #gvpics

A photo posted by @tapanikansas on Sep 13, 2016 at 4:23am PDT

Great way to chill after a hike.

a sofa just when you need it. only in westman islands #iceland#niceland#nordiclife#exploring#westmanislands#islandlife#igersiceland#gvpics

A photo posted by .anna koziol (@turbotamara) on Sep 11, 2016 at 7:05am PDT

And the winner is:

It’s this time of the year already… Birds are leaving, weather is turning grey and rainy, summer chill will soon fade away… But northern lights are out, snow is definitely on its way, darkness and the cosy spirit as well! A whole lot of possibilities await with the arrival of winter. Say goodbye to miss Kría #winteriscoming #blackandwhite #kría

A photo posted by Júlli Jónsson (@julli_jonsson) on Sep 10, 2016 at 5:42am PDT

Congrats, Júlli. You’ve captured the perfect shot of the Arctic tern (Kría) leaving our shores for the winter. There’s a T-shirt and Grapevine goodie bag waiting for you at our office (or coming to you in the mail).

Thanks to all the Instagrammers who participated in this week’s contest! Keep on finding creative ways to capture Iceland’s beauty on your phone, and make sure to follow @RVKgrapevine and use the hashtag #GVpics to compete in next week’s competition.