i'm a firm believer that photos are made by a photographer, not a camera. dont get too caught up in your equipment, just focus on learning techniques and trial and error.
of course there are necessary tools that you NEED in order to properly shoot certain photos. for example, you really cant shoot sports indoors without a long lens that has a large aperture, and you cant take car photos at night without a tripod.
some photography resources i'd recommend are:
www.fredmiranda.com ,
www.photo.net ,
www.sportsshooter.net , and for photoshop tips i really like
www.russellbrown.com
if you want to turn this into one huge photography thread, thats cool with me. they have them on nasioc.com and clubwrx.net and they are really popular. just post your photos or ask any questions or share anything photographic here that you want. anything photographic applies... its just really important with this to keep it on the topic of photography (not snapshots of this or that).
bryan