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.

Little Girl, Guatemala

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

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

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Paris Sentinels

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

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

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

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

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Red, Paris

Woman Wearing Hijab

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

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

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Little Girl, Guatemala

Fingerpainting

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

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

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

Street Photo, Paris

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

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

San Francisco Metallic

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

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

Amanda, Marin County, California

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

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

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

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

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Jacque and Scottie

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

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Street Photo, Paris

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Paris Painter

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

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