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.

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

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

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

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

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

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

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

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

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

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Little Girl, Guatemala

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

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

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

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

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

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Woman Wearing Hijab

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Paris Painter

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

San Francisco Metallic

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

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

Jacque and Scottie

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Little Girl, Guatemala

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Fingerpainting

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Red, Paris

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Street Photo, Paris

Amanda, Marin County, California

Paris Sentinels

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Street Photo, Paris

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

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

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

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. 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