I want...part two.

Although I'm perfectly happy with my current Nikon, I know if I want to take this whole photography shindig to the next level I need to have not one, but two sweet camera bodies. This is in case one decides to be a douche bag and stop working in the middle of a shoot. Never a good thing.

After doing some research (and mentally rejecting anything over $2,000 because I'm a bit cash-poor at the moment), I found the wonder that is the Nikon D7000. Like any good online shopper, I based my decision on the overwhelming amount of positive reviews the device received.

Here's some specs for fellow camera geeks:

• 16.2 Megapixels
• EXPEED 2 Processing Engine
• ISO up to 6400 (awesome for low-light situations!)
• Active D-Lighting
• 39-point AF
• Twin SD slots (this feature is awesome)

Photo courtesy of Nikon

You're probably thinking: "Wow Laura, you've found the perfect second camera body! Cue the Hallelujah chorus!"

Alas, there is one teeny, tiny problem....like everything else I like/want, everyone else seems to jump on the bandwagon, as displayed by this recent article on Yahoo!

Le poop. :(

Oh well...where there's a will, there's a way. I'm sure I'll find some nice old dude somewhere who owns one that may be willing to trade it for my first-born kid.

I want!

I've been talking about getting a new flash for my Nikon for awhile now. Typically I try to use as much natural light as possible when photographing, but in some lower-light situations a detachable flash (when used correctly) can be a huge help. My camera came with one of those standard pop-up flashes, but it isn't quite doing it for me.

Unfortunately, I've been rather cash-poor lately (thanks to our aging Saturn and Pumpkin's uncooperative anal sacs, among other things). So, while I scrape together enough pennies in my "Photography Fund" jar to purchase the flash of my dreams, I make do with lots of drooling over the Nikon SB-900 AF Speedlight.

Hello lover...