The Virgin Mary may have exploded into Eau Claire for a brief visit on the Fourth of July. Gary Krogman believes he captured the Virgin’s image in the city’s fireworks display, with its soft blue and white sparks trailing downwards.

Krogman, an amateur nature photographer, was snapping away at Phoenix Park with friends. He didn’t realize the image he had captured until he returned home and downloaded his 120 pictures. “Then I could see it right away,” he says. He sent it to the other photographers with him that night, and they agreed there was some angelic figure. Krogman marked the image as the Virgin Mary because of the color. “She’s always looked at as having blue and white,” says Krogman.

One of the photographers, Elaine Stewart, agrees, “I can certainly see the resemblance.” Whether Stewart believes there is any message implied or if the resemblance is merely coincidental, she says, “Some people are more inclined to believe in the supernatural. I’m certainly not going to rule it out.”

At high resolution, Krogman says there is even some detail in the face, and possibly the word “Peace,” flowing out of a trumpet from the figure’s mouth.   

“I do a lot of photography,” says Krogman, “but don’t look for things in my photos.”

The photo has already garnered some publicity from a Catholic and a national magazine, both interested in the phenomenon. “This is awfully unique,” says Krogman. “This is an explosion and to get that much detail is really a remarkable thing.”