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.

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Street Photo, Paris

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

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Woman Wearing Hijab

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

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

Paris Painter

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco Metallic

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Little Girl, Guatemala

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

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

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

Street Photo, Paris

Amanda, Marin County, California

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

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

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

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

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

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

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

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Fingerpainting

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

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Jacque and Scottie

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

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Little Girl, Guatemala

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

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

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

Paris Sentinels

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Red, Paris

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

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