In a digital world where photos live and die on screens, the images we choose to print are the ones that endure. They’re the ones that get framed, passed down, remembered. Some of the most meaningful photographs in my life are the ones I’ve taken the time to print.
For Mother’s Day this year, I had the opportunity to direct a heartfelt spot for DNP, a leading-edge printing technology company, in partnership with Walgreens. This spot conveys the power of a printed photograph and how a single image can hold generations of love.
Watch it here:
It’s always exciting working with a new client, but what made this one feel like coming home was reuniting with my longtime friend and collaborator Gen Umei of K&L Agency in Tokyo. Gen and I go way back—we’ve worked together on countless Nikon campaigns over the years, and I’ve always admired his creative sensibility, steady calm, and love of telling stories.
Most of the work we do at Novus is rooted in vérité—real people, real places, real moments. But a couple of times a year, we take a different approach, and this was one of those projects where every detail was pre-conceived. Collaborating with the broader creative team, we storyboarded every scene, created a script, and hired a voice artist to bring the narration to life. We scouted locations, and settled on Sacramento due to its proximity to Tahoe, and nice weather that could make it feel like we were shooting in spring even though it was winter.
Still, we wanted the piece to feel as real and heartfelt as anything we’d capture on the fly. That’s why it was so special to cast the actual family of Nich Adam, a former Novus employee and friend. Nich’s wife Rebecca, their two daughters, and Rebecca’s mom are all featured in the spot. It gave the story a foundation of authenticity we could build from.
One of the creative challenges was recreating archival family moments—our Novus staff photo editor Mike Grippi did an incredible job of working with the family to find great archival photos, leading to sequences that truly felt like cherished memories.
DNP is doing fascinating work. They’re not just a traditional printing company—they’re pushing the boundaries of print technology in exciting ways, helping people preserve and share memories in formats that feel both cutting-edge and timeless. From high-end photo books to retail printing kiosks, they’re making it easier than ever to bring digital images into the physical world—beautifully, instantly, and accessibly.
And now that I’ve seen the quality of DNP printers, combined with the accessibility of Walgreens, I’m sold. In fact, earlier this week, I ran down to Walgreens to print a card for my mom!
This was a really fun production built around a great team. I want to shout out Pablo Durana, who joined us as Director of Photography. Pablo’s more at home filming on the side of remote cliffs or deep in jungle terrain—so we felt lucky to push his talents in a suburban setting. And as a brand-new dad, Pablo shined while working with our young talent, foreshadowing what an awesome father he’s going to be!
Huge thanks to the rest of my team as well: Bligh Gillies as first assistant; Mike Okimoto as gaffer; Darcy Zoller, in our art department for beautifying the home; Josh Marianelli, who was on set as executive producer, and our producer Brittany Gibeau, who did an amazing job juggling a million logistics and pulling everything together. Also, thank you to Dariel Medina, our editor; our post production manager, Bryan Liscinsky; and Bligh Gillies, who did the color work. And big thanks to Novus partner Andy Mead on creating an original score in such a timely fashion!
Huge thanks to Gen Umei, Koji Okada, and the crew at K&L. And huge thanks to our new friends at DNP and Walgreens for making this one happen. We’re proud of how it came together and, with over 1.1 million views, we’re excited to see it getting a lot of traction on YouTube as well!
Last but not least, thank you to the Adam family for being so wonderful, and also shooting so many amazing photos yourselves that really added to this piece.
Check it out—and make sure you call your mom after watching! Happy Mother’s Day!
Credits
Director – Corey Rich
Executive Producer – Joshua Marianelli
Producer – Brittany Gibeau
Photographer – Corey Rich
Production Coordinator – Chiquita Talley
Director of Photography – Pablo Durana
Post Production Manager – Bryan Liscinsky
Post Coordinator – Leaf River
Editor – Dariel Medina
Compositing – Luiz Abreu
Sound Mix/Sound Design – Andy Mead
Color – Bligh Gillies
Original Score – Andy Mead
Stills Post Production Manager – Hannah Parker
