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Nel Shelby

@nelshelby

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This is my personal page. 👧🏼👦🏼 Mom to Gracie + Jack
💍 Wife to @cdugganphoto
🎥 Owner of @nelshelbyfilms (follow me there too)

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21 years married today. ❤️

For our 14th anniversary, I surprised Nel had our wedding album redone. I still love pulling it out and looking through it.

There are so many things I love about these photographs. Seeing all those beautiful faces together, remembering the moment Nel came down the aisle, and finding all those little moments that might otherwise have faded with time.

I think about this a lot when I’m photographing a wedding for my clients. The photographs that mean the most aren’t always the ones you expect. It’s the people, the connections, and the little things happening in between that you want to hold onto.

I’m so grateful we have these photographs to bring it all back. 🥰

Happy Anniversary, @nelshelby! I love you!!

#WeddingAlbum #WeddingAlbumDesign #OurWeddingAlbum #CandidWeddingMoments #WeddingDayMemories

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21 years ago today. I love you, @nelshelby! Happy Anniversary. ❤️

📸 @clayenos

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Next week, @nelshelby and I are celebrating 21 years of marriage.

After more than 20 years of photographing weddings, I’ve learned that the photographs that matter most aren’t always the ones you expect.

Of course, I love making beautiful portraits of the couple. But over the years, I’ve become just as interested in the relationships surrounding them.

A mother with her son. Siblings who don’t get to see each other often. An aunt, a grandparent, a lifelong friend.

I ask questions before the wedding so I can understand who those people are and what they mean to you. Then, on the wedding day, I can look for those connections and create space for them to happen.

I think 21 years of marriage has given me an even deeper appreciation for how much love can exist in one room on a wedding day.

And I feel very lucky that my work lets me photograph it. 🥰

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🎈18! 🎈 Happy Birthday, G.

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Remounting BLAZEVITCH for @bridgedanceprojectbasel which I originally created for 24 dancers at @jacobspillow among which these 3 powerhouses:
@j.b_shoe @simeonneeld_ @ethanwilsonnnnn 🔥
Fun times!

Video: @nelshelby
Music: Drums and Tuba

#dance #dancer #jacobspillow

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Last weekend, “The Essence of Us” had its world premiere at 92NY. Seeing the film finally meet an audience was incredibly special. 🥰

This project began because @malpasodance could not travel to New York for the planned premiere of @pedroruizjr23’s new work.

So we went to them.

What came out of that experience is a film about artists, collaboration, resilience, and the ways dance can connect us even when borders make that connection difficult.

That was always the heart of the film for us.

I’m so grateful to @92ndstreety for believing in this project and finding a way forward when the original plan became impossible. To Pedro and the dancers of Malpaso for welcoming us into their process. To @ashlibickford, @cdugganphoto, our Cuban collaborators, and everyone who helped bring this film to life.

And to everyone who came to the premiere, joined our Q&A, watched during the 72-hour streaming window, shared the film, or supported us along the way: thank you.

It was an honor to tell this story!!! ❤️

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WORLD PREMIERE TONIGHT! 🤩

After everything it took to get this film from Cuba to New York, “The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story” finally has its world premiere tonight at @92ndstreety.

I cannot wait for you to see it! 💜

Learn more & get streaming access at the link in bio.

📸: @cdugganphoto

#DanceFilm #DanceDocumentary #CubanDance #DocumentaryFilm #TheEssenceOfUs

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Tonight.⁠
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After @malpasodance was unable to travel to New York to premiere @pedroruizjr23's new work, @92ndstreety asked @nelshelbyfilms to go to Havana and make a film documenting the process instead.⁠
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Somehow, I got to be part of that little team too. 🤗⁠
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What started as a dream phone call became two days in Havana photographing these extraordinary dancers as they worked, created, and brought this piece to life.⁠
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And tonight, "The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story" premieres at 92NY.⁠
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Alongside the film, photographs I made during the process will be on view in the lobby and in the event gallery.⁠
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My heart is filled with gratitude and joy that I got to be part of this really special project, and to watch @nelshelby pull it together with such grace, efficiency, and focus.⁠

The in-person screening is sold out, but you can still be part of it:

💻 The 30-minute film will be available to stream September 20 at 12pm ET, with access for 72 hours.

Learn more at the link in bio. 🔗⁠
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#DanceFilm #DanceDocumentary #CubanDance #DocumentaryFilm #TheEssenceOfUs

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There’s so much of documentary filmmaking that you never see.
The conversations before the camera rolls. The questions you ask after an interview. The translating. The problem-solving. The decisions you make when something doesn’t go according to plan.
And sometimes, the hardest part is simply finding a way forward.
We made “The Essence of Us” in an incredibly short amount of time, in another country, in another language. @ashlibickford, our Director of Photography and Editor, and I were making a Spanish-language film as English-only speakers, which meant a lot of listening, translating, asking questions, and most importantly, trusting the people around us.
There’s so that went into this film that will never make it onto the screen.
Tomorrow, a sold out theater finally get to see the parts that did.
💻 STREAM: “The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story” featuring @pedroruizjr23 and @malpasodance at @92ndstreety for $20 starting September 20.

Learn more at the link in bio.

📸: @cdugganphoto

#DocumentaryFilmmaking #BehindTheScenes #DocumentaryFilm #DanceFilm #DanceDocumentary

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Some projects arrive at exactly the right moment. 🙏⁠
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For years, I’ve hoped to be part of work that goes beyond documenting the final performance — projects that allow me to witness the creative process, the collaboration, and the artists BEHIND the art.⁠
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"The Essence of Us: A Cuban Story" was one of those projects.⁠
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Thanks to @92ndstreety for making this possible, @nelshelbyfilms for bringing the vision to life, and @malpasodance and @pedroruizjr23 for welcoming us into their creative process in Havana.⁠
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I’m incredibly grateful to have been part of this story... traveling to Cuba, photographing the making of the film, and witnessing these incredible artists create together.⁠
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It feels like a reminder that the work you’re drawn to has a way of finding you. I’ve spent my career photographing dance and the people who bring it to life, and this felt like a beautiful next step. ⁠
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I hope it’s the beginning of more projects that celebrate artists, creativity, and connection in this way.⁠
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Watch "The Essence of Us" at 92NY on Saturday, September 19 at 7pm or stream digitally on September 20 starting at 12pm ET. ⁠
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Learn more at the link in bio. 🔗⁠
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#MalpasoDance #CubanDance #DanceFilm #DanceDocumentary #WorldPremiere

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bye best summer ever you will be talked about🙏😙#summer26fordabooks

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I didn’t know exactly how we were going to make this film when we said yes to @92ndstreety.
I knew there was a story worth telling. And I knew we were going to Cuba to document the creation of a new work with @malpasodance. The rest, we figured out along the way.
That’s actually how I like to work.
You have a structure, but then you have to be present. You have to listen, adapt, and follow the story instead of forcing it to become what you thought it would be.
And sometimes you have to translate an entire film in Spanish when you’re an English-only speaker!!! 😳
I wrote more about the experience, and the many people who helped shape this film, in our latest blog post.

Read more at the link in bio. 🔗

#DanceFilm #DanceDocumentary #CubanDance #DocumentaryFilm #TheEssenceOfUs

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