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.

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

Street Photo, Paris

Paris Sentinels

Red, Paris

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

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

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Fingerpainting

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

Amanda, Marin County, California

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

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

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

San Francisco Metallic

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

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

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

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Jacque and Scottie

Street Photo, Paris

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Paris Painter

Little Girl, Guatemala

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Woman Wearing Hijab

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

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

Little Girl, Guatemala

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

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

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

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

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

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

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

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

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

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

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