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.

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

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

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Woman Wearing Hijab

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

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Little Girl, Guatemala

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Little Girl, Guatemala

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Street Photo, Paris

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

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

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

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

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

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

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

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

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Paris Painter

Look at Me and My Mussels!

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

Amanda, Marin County, California

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Fingerpainting

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

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

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

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Paris Sentinels

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

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Jacque and Scottie

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

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

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Street Photo, Paris

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

San Francisco Metallic

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Red, 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