Jessica Fike Photography

03/03/2026

FINALLY! It happened! One of my couples skied down the mountain after their ceremony in their wedding day attire. 🥳🥰 So many high fives to Wisp Resort for making this happen for Anastasia and Greg! 55 degrees and sunny on a February ski day…who would have thought!? It was a dang beautiful day. 😎

Shouts to Groomsmen Dave and Juan, and my friend Henry Faulkner for their spontaneous willingness to help capture the ski-down. 💪🏻

03/02/2026

Maybe one of the coolest shoots I've ever done, with one of the coolest girls I've ever met...

Julia is a high school hockey player. She's on both her school's co-ed team and an all-girls team. They played in Canada recently. She also had her quinceañera last year and wore this gorgeous pink dress.

The vision: Julia in the pink dress with her hockey skates on frozen Deep Creek Lake.

The challenge: Getting on the ice.

The shoreline had thawed out but the ice was still thick enough to stand on. After a quick consult with a friendly ice fisherman, we decided we could make it out with the right tools. We landed on using a paddle board to walk from dry land to frozen lake (see final photo). I mostly scooted around on my butt, afraid to fall on the slippery ice while having a camera in hand. Julia and her mom had all the props and all the calm I needed to be confident we could make things happen despite the slippery conditions, and despite standing on a frozen lake, ha!

The first photo is my favorite. Funny how it's a portrait of Julia facing the bright sunshine (having my subjects face the sun is something I would usually avoid). I love her butterfly wings in the wind, her soft smile, and the bright blue sky.

Julia, an hour and a half on frozen Deep Creek Lake, in her big pink dress, with her hockey gear, February 2026

02/18/2026

They were cute and sweet as soon as they walked out the door! I knew within about a minute this was going to be an easy session...

Maya and Skye wanted to capture both a comfy, casual vibe and a snowboarding vibe. We couldn't get to the slopes so we did everything outside the house where they were staying. I walked the property first and immediately realized the snow would be our catalyst. The frozen top and soft bottom wasn't super easy to walk through so I knew it would make for some playful movement. I asked Maya and Skye to hold hands and make their way through the snow together. And from there, they just laughed and played the entire time.

Seriously, one of the most fun sessions I've ever had!

Maya and Skye, engaged and loving winter in Deep Creek, February 2026

02/17/2026

We're experiencing a big melt here in Deep Creek this week so let me get these photos out now...

I have photographed this family seven times - summer and fall are our usual go-to seasons but Alison had bigger ideas...SNOW! Let's try for snow!

The frozen Muddy Creek Falls has been all the rage on social media the past couple of weeks. It's not every year the biggest waterfall in Maryland freezes over so it's an especially impressive sight to see. Alison wanted to see it so we made that our spot for photos.

It was fun and refreshing to let Avery lead the way...she had no problem with the icy stairs or climbing or sliding or finding the neatest icicles formed on a nearby bunch of rhododendrons. I also very much liked her red gloves AND the overall jewel tones from all three of them that popped against the snow.

Alison, Dan and Avery at Swallow Falls State Park, February 14, 2026

02/13/2026

Sometimes the key is to just keep snapping...

Sure they were just standing in front of some pretty trees but that didn't stop them from being themselves and having fun during photo time...and I just kept snapping.

The M Family ladies on their Deep Creek holiday getaway, December 2025

02/12/2026

I want more sessions like this. More sessions where we start off with board games inside. Or just with any activity your family enjoys doing together while on vacation on Deep Creek.

Because it's not all about standing still and smiling for the camera. That's important, yes, but it's not real life and it's not always real fun.

But creating the energy and connection with something like board games, that's fun! It's fun for the family, especially the kids and the grown men who don't like the idea of photos, and it's fun for me to capture.

If you look through the photos post-board games, you'll see the energy and connection I'm talking about...AND the fun they were having. Standing and smiling at the camera some but having so many laughs and moments together you can't help but see and feel the real goodness.

And the fun didn't stop after portrait time, they all changed into matching Christmas pajamas and snuggled in the living room together. 🥰

The M Family during their Deep Creek Christmas getaway, December 2025

02/10/2026

We called this "Operation Blue Silky Curtains"...

Katelyn and Tim so graciously invited me to be a part of their wedding...the big day that would be small in size and would happen in just one month.

Nemacolin at Christmas. It's a vibe and it's beautiful. Magical! They married in a secret room - the outside wall is the door and the room is only used for scheduled tea times. The soft blue colors everywhere immediately WOWED all of us as they were planning.

A secret wedding in a secret room...with blue silky curtains. What a thrill!

My favorite photos: Tim looking at Katelyn as she puts his boutonniere on, Katelyn looking out at Tim as he has a quiet moment on the balcony, and the giant smiles and laughs in the final pictures as they FaceTimed their girls after the ceremony.

And a little sappy story: I remember meeting Tim for the first time and immediately texting Katelyn, "Um hello Tim is amazing!" (I scrolled back and found the text, ha!)

Katelyn and Tim, you are some of the best. Very excited to keep cheering you on! 🥰🥳

02/05/2026

There's a new JFP webpage in town...

We've got waterfalls! And of course they make for a great proposal backdrop.There's also places around the shoreline if you want to be at the lake.Or maybe you just step outside and propose in the backyard of where you're staying. Deep Creek has plenty of beautiful places where you can make things ...

02/04/2026

I was four shots in when I realized I can make these creepy.

I almost didn't take my camera when my friend Emily and I visited Muddy Creek Falls at Swallow Falls State Park yesterday. Maybe because I had seen so many other photos and videos of the impressively frozen falls and because I've seen the falls in a similar state before that I wasn't sure I'd be feeling too inspired. HA! I was wrong.

The combination of delicate, pointy icicles and billowing mounds of frosty ice create an eery kind of look. Like there's fierce movement within the elements or even some sort of monster about to burst out.

I was plenty inspired and photographed (and edited!) the waterfall unlike any other time before. The final few photos are of the giant icicles along the Fisherman's Trail just outside of Swallow Falls State Park.

I think these are creepily beautiful. Anyone else?

Taken February 3, 2026

02/03/2026

A proposal at Blackthorne Cellars...

Evan and Amelia were in town visiting for Thanksgiving. We made arrangements with the lovely folks at the newest hot spot in Deep Creek to have a proposal spot complete with family heirlooms brought by Evan's mom, and of course a bottle of wine.

I sat and sipped a glass of wine and waited, pretending to be a nobody. When Evan and Amelia hit the spot, I pulled out my photography ninja skills and BOOM, Amelia was surprised and just had the best smiles to share during our time together...

After wine-sipping, we took some pictures in the magnificently tall trees that lead into Blackthorne and then visited the lake shoreline for a few more.

Evan and Amelia on their proposal day, November 2025

02/02/2026

I almost titled this "A Touch of Warmth from Deep Creek" because we've had real feel temperatures in the negatives all week here in the and because maybe seeing some warmth could make you feel some warmth and maybe some of us need the goodness that brings.

I guess this can still be called "A Touch of Warmth from Deep Creek" because I make the rules here.

Summer inquiries have been frequent in my inbox so it's not too early to plan for summer photos, believe it or not. I don't make the rules here. 🤩🤪

01/24/2026

What do photographers do to prepare for a snow storm!?

Reminisce about all the times they've taken beautiful frosty pictures in the snow and look at the post-storm forecast for a day the beautiful frostiness can be captured again, sun + bright blue sky a bonus.

Deep Creek + Garrett County, MD post-storm scenes from January 2019 and 2021.