Whats up?

Its hard for me to post today. 

Cause i feel so bad. I do not post often here.

Don't ask me why…. i don't know. 

I post everyday on my german blog (for 3 years now). 

But i am not able to post here every week. 

Shame on me

My german Blog
My german blog is very important for me. I post on my german blog now for 3 years (without a break) and i love it. I am very bad in writing but i love to post my minds. Its very difficult or me to write in english. So what i recommend is to read my german blog. 

You can do that with Google Translate

Just paste the link of my german blogpost inside and you will get a link where my german post is in english. Ok the english is not perfect but i am sure you can understand it. 

Google + and Facebook
You can find many many informations, pictures and stores also on my google+ and Facebook account. Sometimes i post in german AND in english. But you can also use the google translate website there too. 

I like to say thank you so much for your support and for your interest in my work. You can't imagine how much i appreciate that. 
If you like to visit on of my workshops in germany (in english language) please take a look here KLICK

I am sure i can do more international stuff in the next couple of years….just give me some time.

P.S
I try to do another webinar of some photoshop techniques soon. Most of the time i can do that only spontaneous. So keep a eye on my blog and on my google+ account etc. 

lg Calvin
 

You still follow this blog? Thank you

I was sooo busy but today its time for a english blogpost. 

I like to write about my last days and what happen in future. 

And the good thing is… i have only good news

So have fun with the todays blogpost

Enjoy

Tion2011
In the last couple of weeks i was very busy with Tion2011. Tion2011 is a event in germany for about 400 photographers. I am the founder of this event and it was so much work. The event was great and now i have time for many other things. Here is a picture of my presentation "Marketing and Publicity for photographers". 

Personal Coachings
Beside my seminars and presentations for many people i also enjoy my personal workshops. Yesterday i had a great personal coaching and we had a lot of fun. Heres is a picture what we did yesterday. The name of the model is jessi and she is the model of my workshop in january in heidelberg too. 

Photoshop World
Do you know the photoshop world? The next ps world is in Washington and…….. i ll be there as a instructor. I hoe i can do my brandnew session "the photoshop freak show". If i know more i let you know. 

Social Media
If you like to read more about me or my work, if you like to see pictures then please follow me on Facebook and Google+ 
I know that i post most of the time in german but i like to post more in english. If you dont understand everything you can learn german…. i mean.. you can use a translation-tool. 
But i do my best to post in english

See you

Calvin

Today i like to write again about my trip to U.K

But this time about the good part

If you like to take a look at the "bad" part CLICK

I like to show you today some pictures and i like to write about the workshop. 

I have also news about the Hotelvideo

Have fun….

The Hotelvideo
Before i write about the workshop i would like to share some news. A hotel manager wrote me i ll get my money back. Yeah!!!!!
So thank you so much for sharing the video. BUT….. lets wait if i really get my money back… 

The Workshop
Now its time to write about the good things. I had a great time in Wokingham. The Workshop was a lot of fun and i had students from all around the world. Here are some pictures

Yeah, we had a great studio and i have to say thank you to Gerreth for getting so much support in his studio. Please make sure you visit his studio if you need one in UK CLICK

And i have to say thank you to my friend Glyn Dewis. Its very hard to explain, but sometimes you meet a person and it makes BAM! I am not in love with Glyn (dont worry) but i had a great time with this freaky UK Guy. 
Thank you Glyn and looking forward to see you in january in germany

By the way guys……. some words about Germany…

If you like to visit germany, and if you like to visit my workshops (in english language) and if you like to also meet Glyn THEN take a look here CLICK

THANK YOU
I like to say thank you to the students of the workshop. It was so much fun for me and i hope you had a great time too. Hope to see you one day again.

P.S
In this (german) Episode of Hollywood Uncut you can find also some parts of the workshop

Take care…

Calvin

Whats up? 

A few days ago i was in the U.K

I have to made some bad experience with the Hotel "Holliday Inn" in Wokingham. 

And today i like to share this experience. 

Please think about it and if you like to help me you can share the video

The Video
Before we write you all the details we trie to give you a overview with a video about the situation. 

The details
Its hard for me to write in english words all the details. Cause everything is very complicated. So my friend Glyn, who tried to helped me in wokingham to fix the problem, write you all the details and the full story about my situation. 

Hi Folks,
My name's Glyn Dewis and I'm a Photographer, Retoucher and Workshop Instructor over in the UK, and I helped to co-ordinate Calvin's recent trip to the UK to deliver his 2 Day Workshop; arranging the Studio location, suitable Models and having made enquiries, recommended a couple of hotels for Calvin, his assistant Gabor Richter and also some of the Workshop attendees to stay in for the duration of their stay. 

Out of the recommended hotels, Calvin opted to stay in the Holiday Inn in Winnersh, UK which is just a short drive from the studio so ideal…or at least that's how it first appeared…

Two rooms (one for Calvin and one for Gabor) were booked online back in May of 2011 but Calvin received no 'Booking Confirmation' email and so phoned the hotel direct to see what the situation was. The female receptionist told Calvin that there was indeed a reservation but for just one room and recommended that once the phone call had ended, to go back to the hotel website and again book a second room; which he promptly did.

Ok so come Friday 26th August, the day before the workshop, and both Calvin and Gabor arrive at Heathrow, I meet up with them and drive them first to the studio to check all was in order for the following day and then it was on to the hotel where on checking in, the female receptionist said that 3 rooms had been booked; however it didn't appear to be an issue as it was something they would 'sort out'.

Later that evening upon returning from a meal,  Calvin was informed that he would have to pay for the 3rd room for the duration of his stay…a cost of some £200 and despite explaining that only 2 rooms were required, no confirmation email was received for the 1st booking, and being advised by staff to book another room, the Front Office Manager refused to assist other than suggesting Calvin call a number from off the Hotel Website. Having only a German Mobile and Sim, Calvin asked if he could use a hotel phone to call the number but was met with a brick wall and reply from the Front Office Manager saying that "The hotel phones don't call out".

The following day was the first part of the workshop, the photography part so when Calvin was in full flow I left the studio and headed on back to the hotel for a meeting with the Front Office Manager to see if the situation could be satisfactorily resolved. The conversation with the Manager ended with a promise that the matter would be looked into and sorted out during the day and that I would expect a phone call back with an answer a short while later.

The phone call didn't come so, as is the norm these days, a message was sent out on Social Media which did in fact get a response from IHG (Inter-Continental hotel Group) who oversee a number of hotel chains, asking that I email them the circumstances and they too would look into what had happened.

Later that same day I managed to again speak in person to the Front Office Manager who went on to explain that he too had now spoken to IHG and that 'they' had agreed the best course of action to "Help Mr Hollywood" was to give him a full reimbursement of the £200 if the hotel were to sell one of the 4 remaining available rooms to a new guest; clearly not the ideal solution but we had his 'guarantee' that this would not be a problem and the room would definitely sell as there was a music festival being held nearby and lots of attendees are looking for accommodation. 

Feeling assured we would manage to resolve this matter the next morning a conversation with the front office manager went confirmed that in fact 2 rooms had since been sold to new guests so you would expect this to be the end of the matter, but no! A phone call was made by the Front Office Manager who then came back saying that I had misunderstood, as had the other members of the public around me at the time, and that the agreement had been that the hotel had to be fully booked i.e. ALL rooms had to be sold before Calvin would be entitled to his money back. 

I just seemed that every time a solution presented itself the hotel had an opposing answer which meant they would not have to pat back any of the £200 for unwanted room.

To add to this a member of staff gave me a printout of the booking confirmation email which clearly showed that it had been sent on to the incorrect address; calven@calvenhollywood.com instead of calvin@calvinhollywood.com but the hotel managers answer was that this was not down to the hotel but Calvin spelling his name incorrectly. 

Why would 2 guests requiring only 2 rooms go ahead and book a 3rd room? To a layperson it just didn't make sense but in a poor attempt at 'thinking on his feet' the front office manager went on to say that "only today we have a Mr Smith staying here with his wife who has booked 5 rooms for themselves so it does happen" … I mean, really? Come on…if you're going to attempt an untruth please be a little more creative with the name…Mr Smith? I ask you?

Anyway the long and short of this is that the hotel say they only sold 3 of the remaining 4 available rooms; coincidence? Interesting though is that on the day Calvin was checking out I spoke to a member of staff on reception that I had not encountered before this point and noncholently asked if they had an vacancies to which the reply they were fully booked came back. Really? So you're fully booked you say? but then no, the light bulb came on and a hesitant "Oh no sorry, we have 1 room available" was the response!

So there you have it, sure we had an incredible workshop as you would expect and time spent with Calvin and Gabor of the 4 days I'll never forget for the laughs we had but it has to be said, the matter with the hotel did put a bit of a dampener on things…it was completely unnecessary and to be honest something I just couldn't comprehend. I mean surely a gesture of good will from the hotel would have served them so much better than completely shutting down and refusing to help in any way and in fact smiling each and every time I spoke to try and help; something I did have to tell them to stop doing because it felt by them smiling they were being dismissive and showing no respect whatsoever for a clients problem.

Somehow I get the feeling when I go out to Germany to spend some time with Calvin and Gabor in the next few months, the experience will be completely different…it's just very much disappointing that the Holiday Inn treat clients as a number, a bum on seat for want of a better phrase but my gut instinct is that this is a bit of mistake on their behalf. Let's face it Social Media is very much out there and the norm nowadays for people to publish their experiences be they good or bad and with the large number of followers Calvin has this I'm sure will be heard and voiced by 10's if not hundreds of thousands.

Glyn

ps> It's also worth mentioning that on the Saturday evening whilst at the reception a female resident/guest approached the front office manager saying that the lights in her room weren't working. A call was made at reception to maintenance but there was a complete refusal to attend the ladies room despite the front office manager almost pleading with whoever was on the end of the phone to go and check it out!

It would seem that Calvin & Gabor weren't the only residents/guests to receive poor treatment by the Holiday Inn, Winnersh, UK.

What i think
Well, you have to know that i am not a guy who is looking for trouble. But that was not fair. I was thinking so long about that to find where maybe i have the fault. Cant find something. I like to have the money back. Its not much but i can buy many great toys for my kids with that money. 

And if i get the money back i ll buy then great things and i will record a video. If i don't get the money back, i ll also inform you in a couple of weeks. 

P.S
In my next post ill write about the good things and the workshop what i had in the U.K

Calvin 

Whats up? Everything is fine? 

Today i like to post about a very special workshop. 

The workshop is in germany but i teach in english (FREEAAKKKYYY)

And its all about my business, retouching and photography

Have fun with the post today

Hope to see you in germany

Germany
Ok, for all of you who do not live in germany. Do you ever was in germany? In Heidelberg? Heidelberg is a great town with a great castle. This is your chance to come to germany and visit this nice city. But wait, there is more …. you can also visit my 3 day workshop! Yeaaahhhhh!

P.S If you live in germany, you can also join my workshop

The Workshop
The workshop is a very exclusiv 3 day class where i teach everything about my photography, lighting, retouching and business. You will learn everything. You can see my office, my workflow and how i handle all the things. AND….the workshop is in english language. Dont worry i can speak much better english then writing

Heidelberg
And dont forget… on day 4 there is no workshop. Day four is "Heidelberg-Day". I ll show you the city and the castle and of course we take pictures of everything I think you will have some amazing days in germany. Day 4 is for free (of course), but only for students of the workshop. 

Weisches Lischt
If you like to join this workshop you will also learn how to say "WEISCHES LISCHT". Weisches Lischt is the german translation of the photoshop blendmode "softlight". And the name of my studio is "Weisches Lischt". Scott Kelby also learnd how to say "Weisches Lischt". (Thx James for the picture)

If you have any questions about the workshop let me know. But make sure you checked all the details of the workshop here CLICK

Ok guys… i now have to prepare my workshop in Wokingham/UK. If you like to join there….CLICK

Greetings from the beautiful germany

Calvin

Whats up?

Today i like to write about my latest training on Kelbytraining.com

Do you know my pictures of the project photographer? 

I ve got so many questions how i did these pictures

Here is the answer

Have fun with the post today

Project Photographer
This Project was a big success for me. I showed a very popular portrait style where i only used three lights and a grey background. But the tutorial was in german and so many people was aksing me to to the same in english. Well…. take a look
 

And belive me…i had a great model for this class. Its MATT KLOSKOWSKI  
Thank you Matt for beeing my supermodel. 

If you like to learn everything about this style…. go to kelbytraining.com and visit my class CLICK

In my next blogpost i write about my 3-day class in oftersheim (close to heidelberg) / Germany. This workshop will be in english language. If you dont like to wait for my next post…. take a look

Thats it for today…see you

Calvin

Whats up?

OMG today i have a tutorial for you that is very special

Its not only a tutorial, its a story. 

Belive me i am not a good "soryteller" (is that the right word?)

But i think its more funny to watch

Have fun and let me know what you think

Hi guys, whats up? I dont like to waste your time with words. Take a look at my latest photoshop tutorial 

Now i have a question… do you like to see more storys about police…… excuse me.. i mean about pixels, photoshop, tutorials and much more?! 

Greetings from germany

Calvin

Whats up? 

Today i like to show you some pictures. 

The pictures are from different kind of jobs and shootings. 

I hope you like some of them

If you have questions, let me know. 

NO SECRETS!

In the last post i told you that i am very busy. The reason is….. pictures. I have to take pictures of so many people. And of course the pictures have to get retouched.

Today i like to show you a few pictures of my last jobs, coachings and some free work. 

[Show as slideshow]

I know its in german language but maybe you like to visit also my german blog. If you do not understand what i write you can use this site KLICK

If you are on the site just type in my german blog domain and you will see my german blog in english *FREEEAAAKKYYYY* 

Thats it for today…. see you

Calvin

P.S 

Two slots for my workshop in U.K are still open

Let me guess…

You already know that i am very busy at the moment. 

And? Yes, you are right. 

Its very hard for me to do the english blogposts, cause i need much time to write in english. 

Anyway.. i have some news for you and a few pictures.

Have fun…

Workshop in UK
At the moment i am very busy with my german business and plans for my workshop in UK. By the way… only 3 spots left for the workshop in Wokingham.

Pictures
But today i don't like to go without showing you some pictures. The pictures what i show you today are shots of some testshoots and personal coachings. 

If you like to see more pictures of my commercial work and also some private shots, visit my 500px.com Account. 
By the way… i hope i can present you in the next days a new picture. I spend more then 7 hours at the new picture. More then 80 layers and a file size of 3.2 GB (16bit). 

Thats it for today… i hope you still here and follow my blog

P.S 
I am also planning a trip to south africa and australia to do a two day workshop. I keep you up to date!

See you
Calvin "the german guy"

Whats up?

Today just a advertising post

Dont miss my Workshop in the UK

Its a two day class in Wokingham

If you like to see, know, do everything in Calvinstyle….. dont miss it

Have fun

My next international workshop in english language will be in the UK (Wokingham). 
I am so excited and happy to show you all my secrets it photography, lighting and post production

We havae only a few spots left for this event. 
If you are interested in this two day class, you fill find more information on this file

If you like to come to the UK and join this Workshop, write me a email
But before you sign up make sure you have much space in your head for many many informations

Calvin