The Best Winter Instagram Photographs From Around The World

With temperatures dropping and winter approaching, we thought we’d show our appreciation for some of the best winter photography Instagram has to offer, from all around the world. 

Table of contents

1. Alberta, Canada
2. Fujiyoshida, Japan
3. Istanbul, Turkey
4. Grindelwald, Switzerland
5. New York City, USA
6. Knoydart, Scotland
7. Retkipaikka, Finland
8. Moscow, Russia
9. Lofoten, Norway
10. Yellowstone National Park, USA

1. Alberta, Canada

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A post shared by Jeff Zacharias Photography (@jezphoto)

Jeff Zacharias / @jezphoto 

Come wintertime in Alberta, daylight is scarce and refracted through snow and fog, as Jeff Zacharias captured in this unique and beautiful photograph. It’s stark, minimalistic, and near monochromatic – you can practically feel the chill through your screen. It’s a great example of form reflecting subject.

2. Fujiyoshida, Japan

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A post shared by tono_eiji (@ag_photogallery)

AG Photo Gallery / @ag_photogallery

AG Photo Gallery is dedicated to capturing and presenting the beauty of Japan’s four seasons, and he’s accomplished that here. With masterful composition, the stars aligned for this shot. The details are extraordinary – here, we can see fresh, untouched snow, clear skies all the way to Mount Fuji, and a mercifully quiet Chureito Pagoda.

3. Istanbul, Turkey

VolkanGece / @volkangece 

Composition and lighting notwithstanding, with wildlife photographs it’s often the rarity of a shot that informs their quality. The essence of a great shot is reacting to events as they unfold and capturing them before they’re over.

Here, VolkanGece has done that by achieving two remarkable feats. He’s produced a lovely shot, where an out of focus foreground makes way for the two subjects and all lines converge on a perfectly horizontal vanishing point. He’s also managed to capture two doves, mid-flight, in perfect focus as they land on the bench next to him. Pair that with the enchanting snowy environment, and it’s a feat, for sure.

4. Grindelwald, Switzerland

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A post shared by Adrian Baias (@adrianbaias)

Adrian Baias @adrianbaias

A splash of colour in a brisk winter landscape can work magic, as travel photographer Adrian Baias spotted from his train around the Eiger in Grindelwald. Adrian's body of work spans landscapes, cities, drone shots, and resort photography, the latter of which we can see here.

There are so many striking elements in this photograph. The dark yellow and green striped carriages rolling round the bend, the swathes of trees in different colours, and the vast and imposing mountains overlooking their surroundings. Baias has captured them all perfectly, and made Grindelwald into a work of art.

5. New York City, USA

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A post shared by S A M H O R I N E 📌 (@samhorine)

Sam Horine / @samhorine

At the very beginning of January 2018, a blizzard hit New York City – there’s even a Wikipedia page dedicated to it. The storm grounded all flights for 24 hours, and nine inches of snow were reported in Central Park, with 17 inches in Long Island. As you can imagine, it was a wonderland for photographers. Sam Horine was one of them, with this photo capturing the essence of both New York and its infamous winters. And let’s face it, no photograph of New York is complete without a yellow taxi.

6. Knoydart, Scotland

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A post shared by Will Copestake (@willcopestake)

Will Copestake / @willcopestake 

This photograph from Will Copestake is all about scale and context. A lone hiker, tiny in the frame, walks up a snowy mountaintop as the sun begins to set – this is a powerful image. There’s an implied narrative to it.

It tells a story of the overwhelming vastness of nature and struggling against the elements. It has you place yourself in the hiker’s shoes to vicariously experience what it’s like for that snow to crunch underfoot. It may also evoke the arctic wind coming over that ridgeline to whip across your face, or a sense of wondering where you might head next.

7. Retkipaikka, Finland

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A post shared by 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐚 🇫🇮 (@maritamattila)

Marita Mattila / @maritamattila

Marita Mattila is a drama instructor and actor from Finland, but a hobbyist photographer in her spare time. The glut of positive responses to this picture are a testament to its beauty. The dwindling sunlight illuminates the snow’s feathered edges, as it clings to tree branches by the lightest touch. The framing of this picture – centred with branches draped over us – enhances the soft, cosy feel of the shot, too, and what’s winter about if not being cosy?

8. Moscow, Russia

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A post shared by Архитектурная Москва Елена (@elena.krizhevskaya)

Elena Krizhevskaya / @elena.krizhevskaya

This is a shot of Nikolskaya Street in Moscow. Every year on this street, Christmas lights and decorations are hung from lines running from end to end. As a pedestrianised thoroughfare, in the daytime it’s often heaving with footfall, but here Elena has captured a mother and child with the street to themselves. There’s something cinematic and fantastical about it.

9. Lofoten, Norway

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A post shared by Even Tryggstrand (@eventyr)

Even Tryggstrand / @eventyr

This shot is almost too good to be true. Not only can we see the Northern Lights with some degree of clarity, the beautiful, powdered snow, and moonlight illuminates one of Lofoten’s many mountains as it rises from the deep blue fjord at its base. Then there’s the cabin inching in from the side, with its warm and inviting glow providing a stark contrast to the cold winter scene outside. Even's efforts really capture your imagination. 

10. Yellowstone National Park, USA

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A post shared by Journey Through Yellowstone (@yellowstonefilm)

Tom Murphy / @yellowstonefilm

Wildlife photographer Tom Murphy is the man behind @yellowstonefilm, named after a documentary about his winter expedition through Yellowstone National Park. Murphy wanted to capture all of the splendour of this lesser-known side of Yellowstone, and nothing exemplifies that better than this juxtaposition.

Here, we see a bison – which we’re used to seeing in meadows under the hot sun – covered in snow and ice. As demonstrated by Murphy, presenting something familiar in unfamiliar circumstances makes for a captivating photograph.

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