photoblog help, please?

here’s the thing: i’m running wp 1.2.2 and i’ve set up a normal weblog. using one of kittens plugins, i managed to keep the actual text weblog separated from the photoblog (using the plugin which allows you to post a specific category alone in one page), and using a plugin from scriptygoddess i managed to have a “previous in this category” link for recent photos. but i still have a couple of issues:

– display thumbnails from the last few photos used
– display thumbnails from ALL uploaded photos (sort of an archive)

i’ve browsed around for plugins that would allow me to do this, but to no luck. anyone out there knows of a way? i’m confortable with upgrading to a beta version if i must

thanks