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.

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

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

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

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

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Little Girl, Guatemala

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

Fingerpainting

Street Photo, Paris

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

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

San Francisco Metallic

Amanda, Marin County, California

Paris Painter

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

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

Paris Sentinels

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

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

Little Girl, Guatemala

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Street Photo, Paris

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

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

Woman Wearing Hijab

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Look at Me and My Mussels!

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

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

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Red, Paris

Jacque and Scottie

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Reading On the Metro, Paris

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

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

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