Dreams

Lately, I have been investing a lot of time into our dreams. I say "Our" because for some reason Michael and I have always been really in sync with what we want to do in life. And its been convenient because two heads are better than one!
But lately, its become more and more apparent that our dreams are SO doable. And we don't have small dreams. I posted before about a movie called, "The Secret" and got a lot of response from people who have watched it and its help them change the way that look at life. After watching "The Secret" I was recommended to read the book, "The Answer"
This book is SO fun to read because it goes into the details and science of WHY The Secret works. And its helped me realize that I am just as capable and anyone out there that has already accomplished the things that we want to accomplish!
We've all had dreams in the past that we put aside and let fizzle. And I think that's okay if the dream fizzles because you changed and didn't want to achieve it anymore. But if you have dreams, don't give up on them! And don't stop working hard towards them!
I always say that I only have one life to live and I'm not going to waste time.

Anyone out there with an inspirational story about not giving up on your dreams? Anyone out there that needs to bee inspired to stay focused on your dreams?

I also think that sometimes we are so busy working day to day that sometimes we don't stop and think, "What are my dreams? What do I want to accomplish, learn and acheive in this life?" If you haven't asked yourself that question in a long time, maybe its time to!

New Blog; The Co-Brainchild Has Begun!

Chris Orwig on CS4:

Anna & I have worked out the kinks in our blog philosophies and come together to offer the best of what's in both our brains. Our new combined blog is really the blog Anna has been using all along accept is now highly customized (& still in progress) by the amazing Chris Orwig. There's a sweet photo of Jack Johnson on the opening of his site. Definitely check out his gallery "wave riders I, II, & inspiration" for a lesson in consistency of style and the ability to capture ones character.

Chris also co-designed with me & built the first version of michaelandannacosta.com back in 2006. He's the author of Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom How-Tos: 100 Essential Techniques: here on amazon.com just to name a few, is sponsored by Adobe, nikMultimedia, & Epson, is one of the top instructors at Brooks Institute of Photography, and I just can't say enough good about him! On top of that, he's one of the coolest people I know.

So all that being said, our blog is no longer fractured and your one stop fix will all be right here in one convenient stop!

Much love, & don't forget to vote!

We want YOUR opinion! Please comment!

Michael and I have decided to finally combine our blogs. The reason that this hasn't occurred until now is that we are a smart married couple that knows when to draw boundary lines. For instance, Michael is in charge of any technical, computer, or design related activities in our business.  I am in charge of operations.  We don't cross into each others territories so that we can both do our individual duties unfettered. 

So, we had separate blogs for this very reason. I wanted to write whatever the heck popped into my mind and have the liberty of uploading iphone pictures if I wanted to. (A despicable practice as far as Michael is concerned). And Michael likes to spend days on one blog post, (not really but almost!) making sure that it is perfect in every way possible.  Thus, separate blogs have been a necessity. Until now...

I think that we have come to the conclusion that having both our blog posts on ONE blog would be easier and more convenient for our readers.  It's also great to have double the posts and therefore a more interesting blog. 

What do you think? Do you normally JUST check Anna's blog or Michael's blog?  When you surf past our blog(s) do you take the time to check both?  Any feedback is extremely helpful as we want to make sure we are making the right choice in combining!  Thanks for reading! 

Front Cover of Las Vegas Bride

The Fall Issue of Las Vegas Bride is here & as previously mentioned we were blessed enough to score the front cover. Michael took this image in MTV's - The Real World Suite on top of the pool table overlooking the strip. It was so fun to work this shoot as Teresa was up for anything. We have to give a big shout out to Michelle Buckley of Mint Julep Inc. for telling Teresa & Daniel about us & being the fastest rising star in the industry! Next Saturday we're going to do our second wedding with her that's going to receive TV air time. More details on that later.....

Also check out this wedding featured on L.A. Rag Mag & The Insider

San Francisco & San Jose PUGs!!

Okay, I feel extremely lame because when we got home from our East Coast tour we crashed and I never blogged about Hartford CT, Boston or NYC! And those were some of the absolute best PUGs we've done. I can even believe how silly I am!!
Anyway, there will be a belated blog about those cities since they were so awesome. But in the meantime I just wanted to make mention that we are up in the Bay area and just got done presenting for the San Francisco and San Jose crowd! Both these groups were great. The San Jose PUG was extremely warm and inviting and laughed at ALL of our jokes!! :) And the San Francisco PUG was great and we were able to reconnect with some great friends at both.
I have to say that I feel extremely happy/sad at the same time. We are basically done with our tour for the rest of this year. We decided to postpone the Seattle, Portland & Tacoma trip due to some scheduling difficulties. We'll probably hit up that area in the spring which will be great!
Its been a really crazy ride! What an amazing experience this has all been. What I really love is that it seems that we are actually providing people with information that is helping their businesses. Last year at the WPPI convention we had this amazing couple bid on us for a mentor ship during the Thirst Relief Auction and we were able to reconnect with them yesterday in San Francisco. Their studio is Lilia Photography and Lilia and Raymond are the owners. Anyway, they let us know last night that many of the things that we had discussed with them really helped their business. That was SO great to hear! I love it!! This experience has confirmed my feelings that I have a passion for helping others. I know that I'm so grateful to SO many people that provided insight to Michael and I when we were first starting out. What a great community we have!

"The Secret" - Changed my life!

Who has watched the DVD, "The Secret" ? If you have, will you post a comment and give a little insight into how its changed your life? This DVD is SO amazing and only takes a hour and a half to watch. You can buy it at any Barnes & Nobles or Borders and probably a ton of other places too.

I really feel that no matter what walk of life you are at, watching this DVD will open your eyes to the amazing potential that you possess. And ultimately, it will make you aware of how to accomplish your dreams.
I was hanging out last night with some of Michael and my photographer BFF's. Tim & Cheryl Halberg, Barnaby Draper and Nicole Steakley, Chris & Katie Humphrey's, Kristen Renee and Andrew Van Gundy. We were out to dinner and I was chatting with Nicole about various things. And one thing that we touched upon was that in life, achieving your dream is very simple. It only takes 1. Time and 2. Pressure. Its the exact same principle that I learned by watching "The Shawshank Redemption" where at the end, you find that the principles of geology are the same. It takes and time and pressure. It took time and pressure to create the Grand Canyon - just like it will only take time and pressure to acheive your dreams. But if you don't put in consistent time or pressure then it will never happen. Its a simple principle!
Anyway, I heard about "The Secret" from a new friend David Berck - so thanks David! I love hanging out with forward thinking people who are a wealth of knowledge and have so many golden nuggets to share! (and now I'm sharing it with you, hint hint!)
For those of you who haven't seen this DVD - go out and buy it immediately! And THEN post on the the blog about what you think! Can't wait to hear what you have to say!

We're Home! (But I still need to blog about Boston, Hartford & NYC!!

Ohmygosh - it feels SO good to finally be home! 3 weeks is a really long time to be on the road! The last few days of our tour were so hectic I didn't get a chance to blog about Boston, Hartford or NYC. We literally didn't have a minute to spare! But we had a fabulous time and I'll definitely do a recap on those cities because they were some of the best of the entire trip!
Its funny, because we have been blessed to be able to see SO many great sites and meet so many awesome people - but there is just something about being home that is like no other. My grandpa who is 92 years old picked us up from the airport and then took us to lunch. (Its really amazing how healthy he is!) And I was talking to him about how good it was to be home, and he was like, "Its like in the movie the Wizard of Oz - Be is pleasures and palaces wherever you may roam, be it ever so humble there's no place like home."
That's so true, isn't it!?
So I'm thrilled to be home, but also feel so blessed and happy about everyone that I was privileged to meet. Thanks everyone for your amazing hospitality! Can't wait to see a lot of you at Imaging USA and WPPI!!!

xoxo