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.

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Street Photo, Paris

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, 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

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

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

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

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

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

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

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

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

Street Photo, Paris

Jacque and Scottie

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Red, Paris

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

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

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

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

Little Girl, Guatemala

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

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

Woman Wearing Hijab

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

San Francisco Metallic

Fingerpainting

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Little Girl, Guatemala

Paris Painter

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Amanda, Marin County, California

Paris Sentinels

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

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

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

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

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