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.

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Reading On the Metro, Paris

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

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

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

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Paris Sentinels

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

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

Little Girl, Guatemala

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

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

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Street Photo, Paris

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

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

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

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Woman Wearing Hijab

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Jacque and Scottie

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

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

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Amanda, Marin County, California

Little Girl, Guatemala

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

Red, Paris

Paris Painter

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

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

Street Photo, Paris

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

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

San Francisco Metallic

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

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

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

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

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Fingerpainting

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

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