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.

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

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

Red, Paris

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Jacque and Scottie

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

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

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

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Paris Painter

Paris Sentinels

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Woman Wearing Hijab

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

Street Photo, Paris

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

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

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

Street Photo, Paris

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Amanda, Marin County, California

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Reading On the Metro, Paris

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

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

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Little Girl, Guatemala

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

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Fingerpainting

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

San Francisco Metallic

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

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

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

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

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

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

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

Little Girl, Guatemala

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

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