Every portrait tells a story

Posted on October 18, 2008 by Troy

Great portraits tell a story about the subject. [not suggesting these are great portraits..]

This photo could suggest “civil unrest” as two rough and ready rioters prepare to throw stones at an authority figure (me!), or maybe just “out for a walk”.

This may invoke the idea of “innocence”. But anyone who really knows a three year old knows better.

The story here could be, “sisterhood is great”, “good friends”, or “perfect kids”. Yeah, that’s nice.

The story here could be… “the truth”.

More pics of the munchkins: www.flickr.com/photos/johnstonekids/

The relatively small power of storms

Posted on October 15, 2008 by Troy

Storms. Raw power. Beautiful. Potentially destructive. Scary.

Despite the awe inspiring power of a summer storm, they are as nothing to the power of the Creator of the whole universe.

I know that the LORD is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
The LORD does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
Psalm 135:5-7

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
Genesis 9:12-16

His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
Psalm 97:4-6

Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown…

Grill This

Posted on October 12, 2008 by Troy

If you knew my dad at all, then you know that I was born to BBQ.

[Dad and me doin our thing]

For many, the grilling season is already over. But I am like my dad, I am not a fair-weather BBQer. Nope. I will shovel my way to the BBQ and fire it up all winter long. Neither rain..

or snow..

will keep me from my grill. Cold, however, will. It is mighty hard to cook food when it is -30.

Once I went out to get a tank refilled in the middle of a snow storm and the guy just looked at me with raised eyebrows as if to say “are you crazy, BBQing in this weather?” I informed him that my wife was away for a week, and with a knowing nod he filled the tank without further questions.

Normally it is a nice piece of meat that graces my grill, but on occasion we slip something else onto the flaming grate of goodness.. like pizza.

Talk about a great combination of two things I love.. pizza and BBQ. The only way to make this better would be to combine it with another favorite food group of mine, but I think deep frying pizza on a grill might be going a bit too far.

Best done with a thin crust, grilled pizza is pretty awesome.

Another great food to add to the grilling gourmet menu: Corn.

Just soak that sucker in water for a few minutes and you are ready to grill.

This was some of the best corn on the cob we have ever had!

Mmm mmm. BBQ goodness!

Ellie’s Directorial Debut

Posted on October 10, 2008 by Troy

After starring in many movies, Ellie has now moved into a new position behind the camera. In her directorial debut, Ellie works on her cinematography style with hyper-realistic camera shake, fast panning, and unique, random camera angles.

In describing the movie, producer Troy Johnstone said “It is truly amazing.. its almost as if there was a three year old working the camera!”

A Berry Nice Day

Posted on October 9, 2008 by Troy

Awhile ago we took the family up to Wetaskiwin to pick strawberries at Stevens Strawberries.

It is a family owned strawberry u-pick.. and Naomi happens to be part of that extended family. So it was a berry picking family reunion kind of day. The kids were there helping pick berries (more like, helping themselves to berries..), along with uncles, aunts, and grandparents. Afterward we had a big BBQ and some good times visiting with family we don’t see very often.

Ellie “helping” grandma