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.

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

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

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

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

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

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Red, Paris

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

San Francisco Metallic

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

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

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

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Reading On the Metro, Paris

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

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

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

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

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Jacque and Scottie

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Paris Sentinels

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

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

Woman Wearing Hijab

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Street Photo, Paris

Paris Painter

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

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

Street Photo, Paris

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

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

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Little Girl, Guatemala

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Little Girl, Guatemala

Fingerpainting

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

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Amanda, Marin County, California

Look at Me and My Mussels!

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