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.

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

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

Little Girl, Guatemala

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

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

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, 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

San Francisco Metallic

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

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

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

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

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Amanda, Marin County, California

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

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

Street Photo, Paris

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

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

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Paris Painter

Jacque and Scottie

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

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

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Fingerpainting

Little Girl, Guatemala

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

Paris Sentinels

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Street Photo, Paris

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

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

Red, Paris

Reading On the Metro, Paris

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

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

Woman Wearing Hijab

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

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