Working from home? Sheltering in place? Home schooling? Nerds, we have more time around the house. So, let’s treat this crisis as an opportunity to learn the thing you’ve been putting off.
Me? I have boxes of action figures that have sat on storage shelves for years. For those same number of years I have been thinking to myself that it would be cool to free them from their cardboard cage, pose them up, then snap a few pictures of them.
Do I have aspirations of being an action figure photographer? Heavens no. It has just always sounded like a relaxing, fun hobby. And now that I have time in my house, it’s time to do the thing I’ve been putting off!
Star Wars Black Series are great as is. But what if I’d create a diorama for this, then photographed it there?!?! ![]()
See where those shelves should go? I’ve already started painting the lumber to build those. 
I got fancy holders to make it look like my action figures are flying! Now to get some firecrackers to replicate explosions! ![]()
It’s a little chore and a rewarding one to put these action figure stands together. 
Soon to be photographed. Bonus points if you can name every Marvel hero.
Notice I don’t have much action figure photography to share. Firstly, I’m just starting out! I don’t want you to be all judgey about my beginnings. I’ve been on Twitter, I know how things are.
But, mainly, the purpose of this post isn’t to serve as a primer for action figure photography, it is to serve as a spark, a catalyst, to encourage you to stop putting off that thing you’ve been putting off, whatever it might be.
Nerds on Earth exists largely because we don’t want our lives to be defined by the time we spend on our couches. Sure, we all need down time, but more than that, we want to be productive and additive members of the community.
We don’t want to be mere consumers, we want to be creators. Consume all the great comics and shows, absolutely. But use equal time to create, build, encourage, perform, and produce.
Pleasure yourself, nerds.
It’s all about simple pleasures. Everyone has them. For some, it’s wishing the Patriots to lose. For others, it is stopping the gas pump on a round dollar amount. For us, it’s telling people about the nerdy things we love as well as participating in nerdy hobbies that help us grow and expand as humans beings.
So why lay around? Pleasure yourself. (That came out wrong. I’m really embarrassed by that sentence, dear readers. I’m also quite pleased with myself.)
In other words, don’t just mope on the couch during these difficult times. Lift yourself up, get yourself moving, and take the opportunity to learn the nerdy thing you’ve been putting off. It’s just a hobby, so it isn’t changing the world. But it’s not nothing.
Mine is action figure photography. Let me get a few more tries under my belt, then I’ll maybe put some of the photos up on the NoE Insta. This will be a series by the way. Some of the other Nerds on Earth writers will be following with some of the nerdy things they’ve been kicking down the line but have now decided to learn the thing.
Purchasing the action figure stands in the photos:
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