Maneki Neko Meets Leica:

Maneki Neko (“Beckoning Cat”) also known as Lucky Cat is a Japanese sculture traditionally believed to bring good luck to its owner.  You usually find these cats at the entrances of shops, restaurants, and other businesses.  This one was found in the Flushing, Queens Chinatown.  The Lucky Cat is frequently mistaken for Chinese in origin because they are very popular in Chinese communities but they are most definitely of Japanese origin.  I shot this with my favorite combo: the Leica M9 and 50 Summilux ASPH.  I thought it was kind of cool to shoot this cat wide open with the gate in front of it, and then convert it to black and white.  Here is the color version to compare:

Not much editing was done, I just stuck the RAW file in, and did some simple adjustments.  I used Nik Software Silver Efex Pro 2 for the black and white one.  I’ve been using the new Adobe Lightroom 4 (downloaded the demo), and it’s pretty cool although I must admit that I had no clue what I was doing at first.  I’m still a little lost but I’m getting there.  My digital career started with Photoshop.  I just really wanted to try out the new Leica lens profiles in Lightroom 4.

So what else is new?  Well, I’m loving my M9 again :).  After two years this camera is still a pure joy to use, although I think I’m really going to have to get it calibrated at Leica NJ.  I tried to use my 75 Summilux for street work today, and I mis-focused practically every shot.  I don’t really want to be without my M9 but I definitely want it to be calibrated before I go to Bermuda.  Oh yeah, I’m going to Bermuda in the near future, and I can’t wait to get some beautiful landscape shots.  Anyway, take care everyone.