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.

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

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

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Paris Sentinels

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, 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

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

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

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Little Girl, Guatemala

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

San Francisco Metallic

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Fingerpainting

Woman Wearing Hijab

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Street Photo, Paris

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Street Photo, Paris

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

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

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

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

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Little Girl, Guatemala

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Jacque and Scottie

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

Paris Painter

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

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

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

Amanda, Marin County, California

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

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Red, Paris

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

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

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

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