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

Jacque and Scottie

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

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

Paris Sentinels

Street Photo, Paris

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

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

San Francisco Metallic

Paris Painter

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

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

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

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

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Street Photo, Paris

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

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

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

Little Girl, Guatemala

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Fingerpainting

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Amanda, Marin County, California

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

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

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

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

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Woman Wearing Hijab

Red, Paris

Reading On the Metro, Paris

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

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Little Girl, Guatemala

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

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

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

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

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, 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