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.

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

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Paris Sentinels

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Little Girl, Guatemala

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

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

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

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Amanda, Marin County, California

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Paris Painter

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Street Photo, Paris

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

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

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Fingerpainting

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

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

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

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

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Street Photo, Paris

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

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

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

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

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

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

San Francisco Metallic

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

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

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

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

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

Little Girl, Guatemala

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Jacque and Scottie

Red, Paris

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

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

Woman Wearing Hijab

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