How a Photographer’s Eye Shaped an Agile Coach’s Heart
It’s a crisp fall evening, and Lyle Ripplinger is standing at the edge of a high school football field in deep focus—camera raised, hands steady, and eye trained on a play no one realizes is about to become legendary.
But Ripplinger isn’t just watching the players. Like any good photographer, he’s taking in the whole scene. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices the beaming mom in the bleachers, hands clasped and eyes fixed on her son. A few yards away, he spots a dad on the sidelines, arms folded, proudly watching his quarterback prepare to snap the ball. Off to the side, a coach offers a quiet word of encouragement to a player who’s about to discover his untapped potential.
More than anything that can be seen through a camera lens, Ripplinger has developed an instinct for noticing things others might not immediately see. The little things that turn out to be everything. So on this particular evening, he waits, finger steady on the shutter, for the next big moment.
Then his phone buzzes.
Still holding the camera in one hand, Ripplinger glances down. It’s likely another photography opportunity across town—it could be the Bismarck Event Center, the Bismarck Marathon, or one of the many other institutions where he’s become the house photographer over the years.
But something tells Ripplinger to stay. For reasons he can’t fathom, he somehow knows this is the priority. Besides, it goes against his nature to leave any moment half-caught.
It’s game time. And as fate would have it, his instinct is spot on. A big moment ends up being captured in the most beautiful way.
As the play ends and the buzzer sounds, Ripplinger unwraps the camera strap from his shoulder, clips the lens cap back into place, and bolts for the next location, the sound of crowd cheers and victory chants fading in the background as he shuffles toward his car.
The scene is a small example of something Ripplinger practices every day at NDIT: knowing when to stay the course, and when to adjust it. That’s the heart of an Agile Coach, which just so happens to be his title for the State of North Dakota.
Agile in Action
Agile isn’t simply a methodology. It’s a mindset; a way of approaching work that’s uniquely thoughtful, adaptive, and focused on what matters most. It means understanding who you’re serving, focusing on what provides the most value, listening to feedback, adjusting when circumstances change, and willing to view things from a different perspective.
In a nutshell, Agile is about knowing that the plan matters—but so does the moment in front of you. Ripplinger has had plenty of practice. Through photography, no surprise.
His camera calling started with a simple goal years ago: taking better pictures of his kids’ sports “so they didn’t turn out blurry.” Over time, the hobby grew into photographing other athletes, as well as entire teams, schools, community events, nonprofits, and more. As the opportunities multiplied, so did the competing demands. Ripplinger couldn’t be everywhere at once, so he learned to ask an important question: “Where do I absolutely need to be?”
Sometimes that meant deciding whether someone else could cover an event. Sometimes it meant recognizing that a particular moment couldn’t be replicated. And sometimes it simply meant knowing where his presence would make the greatest difference.
Lyle Ripplinger’s ability to notice the moments that matter—behind the camera, in his work as an Agile Coach, and with his loved ones—has become a defining part of who he is.
One in a Million
Ripplinger has taken more than one million photographs over the years. Ask him why, and you won’t hear anything about fame or followers.
“It’s just a way I get to serve others,” he says. He charges a fee, but not nearly enough to come out ahead. “That’s just not my model.”
For Ripplinger, photography is about something more personal: preserving moments people might otherwise lose. Like the time he took what would become the last photograph of someone’s child before they tragically passed away.
He carries moments like that with him.
“To me, it’s the hidden memories that are worth preserving,” he says.
You can see those memories throughout his Facebook page, Photo Phun by Rip. There are sports shots, student portraits, candid moments, and, of course, plenty of smiles. Some of his favorite frames involve his NDIT family.
Ripplinger has taken senior pictures for colleagues’ children. He’s captured an adorable jumbotron scene featuring Technology Outreach Manager Tony Aukland and his wife, Donna, at a local basketball game. He even documented the moment Staff Accountant Dana Henry renewed her vows with her husband at a local Larks baseball game.
His camera has taken him to plenty of other places, too—from capturing Gov. Kelly Armstrong on the night he coached the Dakota Ditch Chickens to photographing North Dakota’s annual CyberCon event. Wherever there’s a story, a celebration, or a moment worth remembering, Ripplinger seems to find a way to be there.
One of the countless precious moments that Ripplinger has captured over the years, this sweet jumbotron scene features NDIT Technology Outreach Manager Tony Aukland and his wife, Donna, at a local basketball game.
From Balta to NDIT
Ripplinger’s own story begins in Balta, ND, a small town between Rugby and Harvey. His class was the last to graduate before the school closed its doors. The son of a rancher and a schoolteacher, he grew up on the family farm. When that life didn’t look like a promising road in the late 1980s, computers did.
Ripplinger headed to North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton to study computer information systems, graduating in 1992. Jobs were scarce at the time, but a couple of professors knew people at what would become NDIT. That connection led to an interview and, ultimately, a job. He started in June 1992 as a mainframe programmer.
He’s now on track to mark 35 years with NDIT.
Along the way, Ripplinger grew with the technology, moving from mainframe to client-server work and eventually object-oriented programming with Java. For about a decade, he led a team of software developers known as the “A-Team.” There was no Mr. T poster on the wall, but they did share one of the group’s famous philosophies: They loved it when a plan came together.
Then Agile arrived, and Ripplinger’s role changed with it. He moved from managing people and work to serving people and customers as a Scrum Master. After another reorganization left him without a formal team, he carved his own path, developing an internal coaching role that eventually became official. Today, as an Agile Coach, he works across NDIT rather than within a single division.
And he loves every second of it.
Another beautiful moment preserved by Ripplinger, Staff Accountant Dana Henry renews her vows with her husband at a local Larks baseball game.
Going the Extra Mile
Ripplinger’s sense of service extends well beyond his job description.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, he volunteered after hours to help Job Service North Dakota handle an unprecedented wave of unemployment claims. He helped organize NDIT staff into schedules, with roughly 20 people at a time answering calls and receiving guidance from Job Service experts through chat. At times, more than 100 people were waiting in the phone queue.
Sometime later, a colleague told Ripplinger something he hadn’t expected: “If Lyle can adjust and adapt through something like that, I can, too.”
He’d never thought much about the impact he was having. “Again, it just comes back to helping others,” he says.
That same spirit of service shows up in the rest of Ripplinger’s life, too. He’s the kind of person who likes learning how things work, figuring out how to do them well, and then sharing what he can with others. He enjoys gardening. He barbecues, makes his own sausage and jerky, and processes his own deer. He and his wife spend several weekends a month camping from spring through fall, sometimes with their kids and other family members.
In his own way, even Ripplinger’s hobbies have a common thread: making the most of what he has and finding ways to share it with the people he loves most.
A glimpse into some of the things Ripplinger enjoys most, from the outdoors and good food to time spent relaxing and making memories.
The Last Frame
So the next time you’re at a Legacy High School game, a Bismarck Event Center conference, or pretty much any other gathering in the greater Bismarck-Mandan area, keep an eye out. You may not notice Ripplinger right away, but chances are he’s nearby, camera at the ready.
Look a little closer, and you’ll see what he sees: the proud parent in the stands, the teammate celebrating a friend, the coach offering encouragement, the family sharing a moment they’ll want to remember.
Whether he’s behind the lens or behind a podium, one thing is certain: Lyle Ripplinger has a knack for seeing what others sometimes miss.
The bigger picture.