BROOKVILLE — A hobby that she found her talent and passion for late in life, Amy Mains of Brookville continues to soar high in the aerial photography world in memory of her husband.
Amy previously did landscape photography as a hobby, later starting to learn about aerial drone photography when her late husband, Douglas Mains Jr., asked her for a drone. Doug suffered from severe rheumatism and was wheelchair bound, limiting the hobbies and activities he was able to do. She got him a DJI Spark –the first handheld drone –for Christmas in 2018, according to a Courier Express article published in 2023.
Amy attended DJI Aerial photography class in May 2019, and they first flew together as a family in June 2019. The Mains took on the unique hobby together, with one of their favorite places to take the drone being Sherman Memorial Lighthouse in Tionesa, where Amy took one of her most renowned photos, “Walk This Way,” which shows a path around the lighthouse that she and Doug enjoyed walking during their lighthouse visits.
Her husband had an “excruciatingly painful” and debilitating disease that most people couldn’t see, as his bones were deteriorating, said Amy.
“The drone enabled him to see things he couldn’t get to, focus on something good beyond four walls of disease, and gave him something new to learn,” she said.
Doug died suddenly following hernia surgery complications in 2019. “A lifetime of love lost instantly,” Mains said, as she was unable to even fly the drone for some time after he passed, but her kids encouraged her to do it again.
“I chose to face life by creating art with his drone, making myself heal from spending time in nature and focusing on something positive,” she said. “I hope that my pain and ambition resonates to someone else and allows them to also heal.”
“Walk This Way” first appeared on the cover of Drone Magazine in 2022. Mains later became the September 2022 Vanity and Glory ProPrints Professional Photo Contest and story winner for this shot. It was also best photography nominee at the AZDroneFest 2025; a 2023 Thunderbird Drone Festival nominee; and featured on the cover of Drone User Magazine. It is permanently displayed in Sherman Memorial Lighthouse on the gallery floor and has been there for a year now.
“I went out on the top deck to see the vision I created for my husband with the drone,” Mains said.
Continuing to soar
Since the last article on Mains was published in August 2023, her recognition and success has continued to grow substantially in the aerial and digital photography realms. In March 2025, she was nominated to the longest running drone festival in the country –AZ Drone Fest –with nine categories, one of them being for photos, Mains said. Thirty-six people from nine countries that submitted were nominated.
In addition, she received two nominations to the Palm Springs Drone Festival, with the categories being Photography: Nature, “Sunset on Pleasant Hill;” and Photography: Real Estate, “Hartwood Acres.” Sunset on Pleasant Hill was a finalist, and Hartwood Acres, an honorable mention.
Amy Mains’ drone photo, “Sunset On Pleasant Hill,” was a Palm Spring Drone Festival 2025 nominee in nature photography, as well as awarded and published in Drone User Magazine and nominated for the Thunderbird Drone Festival in 2021.
Mains, 58, has also been previously nominated to the Thunderbird Drone Festival in 2021, 2022 and 2023; the Detroit Drone Film Festival in 2023 and Colossus Film Festival in France in 2023. She also submitted work to Southern California Drone Film Festival this year, and internationally, to JeJu Drone Film Festival in Korea.
She has also continued to take classes and certifications to better her craft.
She was one of 24 drone pilots chosen on an international basis for the music video “Go For It,” produced by “Emmy-nominated, multi-awarded cinematographer, aerial photographer and music producer” Maria Davis of Totality Films. Mains was also selected as an aerial runner up in Outdoor Photography Magazine in September 2024 for the photo “1886,” a top-down shot of a historic octagon church taken in Mt. Jewett, Pa.
In March 2024, she participated in Proprints Invitational II, featuring a portrait of her daughter, which was published in Photography & More in December of that year.
Most recently, she was selected as one of 50 international artists for “The Premier Artist Prize 2025.” Mains said this includes two pages in a hardcover book of the chosen artists that will be published in June 2025. This is an international award given to artists of various mediums by the curators at Contemporary Art Station in Barcelona, Spain. They provide the curation and exhibition of art in major cities internationally, including Paris, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Madrid, Barcelona and more, she said, displaying in galleries and high-traffic areas like airports. Mains chose to include “Grassy Paths –The Path in Peace,” along with an artistic wording excerpt from The Thompson Gallery in Switzerland in the book, along with her most awarded, nominated and published photo, “Walk This Way.”
“Walk This Way” is Amy Mains’ photo of the Sherman Memorial Lighthouse, now permanently displayed in the lighthouse in Tionesta. The photo was best photography nominee at the AZ Drone Festival 2025; a 2023 Thunderbird Drone Festival nominee; on the cover of Drone User Magazine and multi-awarded at the Clarion Fair 2024.
“To be chosen for this prestigious award, I am both humbled and honored. I’m beyond elated, appreciative and blessed that they seen the value in my artistic photography.”
Mains’ work has been published in Outdoor Photography; Artist Closeup; FARMtographer Magazine; Drone User Magazine and the Beautiful Pennsylvania calendar. She has participated in gallery shows/exhibits at the Allegheny National Forest Centennial Celebration: ANF 100, held at Crary Gallery; The Manos Gallery and Vandergrift Art Fest. She added that she was selected for a solo exhibit at Artifact Gallery in Times Square, New York, in 2026, which has also brought her multiple offers to exhibit at other top events. In 2024, she made the decision to show her digital photography, too, at local events and fairs.
Over the last two years, her award collection has grown notably to the number 42 for both aerial and digital local photos, including two best in show, for a range of categories – landscape, architecture, floral, people, wildlife, domestic animals, digital, real estate and more. She highlighted that all of these photos are taken in the local area.
Drone photography often takes Mains on adventures, one of the best parts about the hobby. Her favorite subjects to photograph, she said, are landscapes, nature, forests, wildlife, mushrooms, florals, seasons, “anything out of sight to most.”
“I’ll travel backroads, hike deep into the woods and search via maps to hone in and find a simple subject that’s unique, and has a ‘Wow’ factor,” she said.
A landscape shot from Beaver Meadows taken by Amy Mains in Marienville.
She prides herself, too, on the photos being local, such as the 2022 Thunderbird nominee, “Patterns in the Park,” a top-down shot of benches in Town Square in Brookville, one of many examples.
Mains refers to herself as a naturalist, rarely editing photos besides minor adjustments when needed, as well as a minimalist – utilizing minimal time, funds, equipment and training.
An online feature about her and her work will be featured soon on Art Hampton on Instagram, which can be viewed at: www.instagram.com/thearthampton/.
In addition to aerial and digital photography, Mains juggles working full time as a behavioral health technician, takes care of a large home, is a mother to two children and more. That being said, living as a low-income widower has been very difficult. A GoFundMe page was started to help with funding for things like entry and gallery fees, art printing and framing, transportation fees, equipment upgrades and website development, etc. To contribute, visit https://gofund.me/d2cc462c.
Amy Mains of Brookville
To learn more about Mains and view her work, visit “Amy J. Mains : Aerial & Digital Photography” on Facebook: www.facebook.com/amyjmainsphotography; Amy Mains on Facebook: www.facebook.com/amy.mains; the Instagram page: instagram.com/amyjmains/; and photoartpavilion.com/artist/amy-mains/. Print and framed prints are available locally by calling Mains at 814-227-9891 or emailing amyj.mains@yahoo.com.
