A dangerous accessory

I'd been thinking to myself that what with the upcoming holidays and all, we should probably invest in a new speedlight for our camera. One never knows when one will want to whip the thing out to take some pics - and in today's world of HD, if you're in a pic, you want it to be with flattering lighting. Ask the movie stars, they'll tell ya.

So on the way home from work the other day, I found my legs wandering me into a camera store. Now, the people who work in the camera stores in New York are a creature unto their own. They are so passionate about photography, that any perversions or dilutions of the sport are considered outright offensive, and worthy of only derisive responses. Passion like that is to be both respected and feared. Especially feared.

There was a guy in front of me, speaking to the sales agent, so I waited patiently behind him.
"I'm looking for the kind of camera that's a point and shoot, but also takes HD video and is tiny and light."
Sounds reasonable, right? Too gimmicky for the sales guy, apparently.
"Kid, you shouldn't be in a serious photography store like this. For that kind of sh*t, you need to go to Circuit City or Best Buy. Don't waste my time."
"But... but...."stammered the poor fella, taken aback.
"When you're ready to take some serious pictures, and you aren't focused on video and being tiny and light, come back to me."
And that was that.

So you can imagine the trepidation which siezed me when it was my turn to go up. Coweringly, with much hesitation, I approached the counter.
"Excuse me, sir, I'm looking for a new Nikon speedlight. I was thinking the SB-600..." I let my voice trail off.
I flinched (inwardly) and cringed (outwardly), waiting for his response in the deafening silence that followed.
But he surprised me (again).
"That's a great speedlight! You'll love it," he said, taking it off the shelf and handing it over to me. "Works best with the Nikon D-90, you should think about it if you don't have one already."
And he gave me a radiant smile.

I was so relieved I almost peed myself right there and then.

Somehow, I had made it through the camera store sans major mishap. And now, just in time for Turkey Dinner, we have a brand new speedlight to make all our subjects look like movie stars.