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.

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

Little Girl, Guatemala

Look at Me and My Mussels!

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

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

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

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

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

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Woman Wearing Hijab

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

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

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

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

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

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

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

San Francisco Metallic

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

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

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

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

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Jacque and Scottie

Amanda, Marin County, California

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Little Girl, Guatemala

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Street Photo, Paris

Street Photo, Paris

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

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

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Paris Sentinels

Paris Painter

Fingerpainting

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Red, Paris

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

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

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