Photographer finds home

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Timothy R. Capling
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Normally, when people see somebody with a suitcase, it's a safe assumption they're going somewhere. That somewhere could be vacation, a permanent move, or in the military world a TDY.

One Tyndall contractor, known for constantly toting around a suitcase, isn't going anywhere. In fact, when she first arrived at Tyndall Air Force Base nearly 16 years ago, she never would've guessed she was going to stay.

Lisa Norman, K-Mar industries and Tyndall multimedia lead photographer and contractor, graduated from the University of Alabama in 1989 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design and a minor in photography. She came down to Panama City for a weekend, not long after graduating, and saw a job as contract photographer listed in the Panama City News Herald. She sent in her resume, interviewed, and was hired on the spot. She moved to Panama City two weeks later.

"When I first got the job, I knew nothing about how military contracts work," said Mrs. Norman. "The company that hired me in only had two years left on their contract, so I thought I was going to have to find another job." 

Sixteen years later, Mrs. Norman has become a familiar face at Tyndall, easily recognized due to the amount of photographs she takes, and the wheeled bag that looks like a suitcase she carries her camera and equipment in.

"People joke with me all the time when they see my suitcase," said Mrs. Norman. "They always ask if I'm going on a trip."

As the lead photographer, Mrs. Norman gets to choose to do as much of the location photography as she can fit into her schedule.

"I really appreciate that she shoots most of the events that often run well into the night," said Isaac Gibson, multimedia illustrator. "Her years of experience really come to light when we are preparing the hundreds of photos for the operational readiness inspections and during alert-photo incidents."

Mrs. Norman's job encompasses more than just photography.

"When I am not out photographing events, I work on the computer printing the photos, designing the photo collages and creating the photo CD's," she said. "I am also available to help customers who come to our shop looking for specific photos or need to set up a photo shoot."

Jim Bellesbach, base multimedia contract manager and Mrs. Norman's supervisor, estimates Mrs. Norman has taken approximately half a million photos in her tenure at Tyndall.

"In addition to being an expert photographer, she is self motivated, dedicated, conscientious, and a very pleasant person to be around," said Mr. Bellesbach. "She knows the base, its mission and people. I don't think there's a building on base that she hasn't been and I'm very fortunate to have her on my team."

In addition to photography, in her spare time, Mrs. Norman said she enjoys traveling, scuba diving, watching baseball and riding her Harley Davidson "Fat Boy" motorcycle. She said she's traveled as far as Key West on her motorcycle with her husband.

"It is fun to ride side-by-side and watch people when they realize it is a chick on a bike," she said. "I once got a thumbs up from a woman who must have been at least 85 years old; she obviously got a huge kick out of seeing me riding my own bike next to my husband."

Mrs. Norman said she doesn't plan on leaving Tyndall anytime soon, a far cry from her expectations when she first arrived on base.

"I would like to retire doing what I'm doing," she said. "I'll stick around for as long as they'll keep me."