Today marks International Women’s Day! To commemorate, here is a gallery of some of the women I’ve photographed in various parts of the world over the last few years. Most are just going about their days, some are sculptural renditions, and their is one painting of a very special lady, indeed. Whatever they are doing, wherever they are, they sparkle both individually, and as a colorful, beautiful mosaic.

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Skeletons and Lace, Cour d’Honneur, Palais Royal, Paris

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Little Girl, Guatemala

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Red, Paris

Paris Sentinels

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Amanda, Marin County, California

Little Girl, Guatemala

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

San Francisco Metallic

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Concern on a Second Grade Teacher’s Face. Aquarium of the Pacific Field Trip, Long Beach, California

Beautiful Vietnamese Women (and a Couple of American Ones, Too!) Hanoi, Vietnam

Woman Wearing Hijab

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Street Photo, Paris

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Fingerpainting

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Shy. On the Bus to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Long Beach, California

Lynne and Ashley, Mother and Daughter, Marin County, CA

Paris Painter

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Golden Curls and a Smile. Matt Davis Trail, Marin County, California

Praying Madonna, Picture Over my Bed, The Convent of Suore Elisabetta dell’Olmata, Rome, Italy

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Native American Princess, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

“I’m Flying!” Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

Wonder at the Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Skeletons and Lace, Cour d’Honneur, Palais Royal, Paris

“That Seal is So Big!” Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

Jacque and Scottie

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

An American Woman Reading on Board a Junk in Halong Bay, Vietnam

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Street Photo, Paris

Taken individually, each is cause for celebration in her own right. When considered as symbolic of all of us women, the collage forms a pleasing and consistent whole.

For International Women’s Day 2016, Google travelled around the world and asked women to complete the phrase #OneDayIWill. Here are some great responses from London:

#OneDayIWill visit the North and the South Poles and every country in between!

#OneDayIWill fly!!! This latter dream I posted on Twitter and Google responded! Here’s the Twitter conversation:

@renate_flynn Fly on! #OneDayIWill pic.twitter.com/BOVujuBTdC

— Google (@google) March 9, 2016

“I’m Flying!” Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California