Hot Shots

PHOTOGRAPHERS OF DESIGN

>>> Patrick Coulie, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Patrick Coulie firmly believes he learned everything about the business of photography from his years waiting on tables. "In a restaurant-and with photography-you have to make everyone happy," Coulie says. "You have tables coming in, tables leaving. You have to deal with the customers, the kitchen, the host and the entire staff. It's all about juggling."

Of course, it quite possibly helped Coulie's career as an architectural photographer that he didn't just work as a waiter at the local Chili's. Instead, he served at America's most "architectural" restaurant, The Four Seasons in New York. Designed by Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson, the restaurant has hosted presidents, celebrities, business titans, sports figures and socialites since its opening in 1959.

"President Clinton, Bono, Lance Armstrong, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones came into the restaurant while I was working," recalls Coulie. More important to Coulie's photography interests were the architectural luminaries who dined there. "Philip Johnson had lunch there every day. He held court. I waited on I.M. Pei, Philippe Starck and Rem Koolhaas."

Right and below: Two Albuquerque-area office projects by Dekker/Perich/Sabatini.

Coulie's path to The Four Seasons, New York and photography took several twists. A self-described Air Force brat, he was born at Edwards Air Force Base in California and moved often during his youth. When his father retired to Albuquerque, Coulie studied at the University of New Mexico, then took off to New York "on a crazy whim."

Expecting to stay just a short time, Coulie wound up living there for seven years. "I liked the creative vibe there," he says. While he made a living as a waiter, Coulie began studying at the International Center for Photography, assisting other photographers and spending time in the darkroom. "I did mostly fashion and jewelry at first," he says. He also further honed his interest in architecture when his French uncle, a designer, came to visit and took him on architectural tours of the city.

The Rio Rancho, New Mexico public library, designed by Hidell and Associates Architects of Dallas, Texas.

Marriage and a move to Maui followed. "We wanted to detox from New York," Coulie says. But the photography work he found in paradise was less than satisfying. "My wife is an R.N., so she can work anywhere. The only photographs I could do in Maui were weddings or scenics, which really don't interest me."

The couple moved to Albuquerque in 2001, where Coulie began to pick up work from homebuilders, then architects. "I was fortunate in that people who liked my work passed my name on to others," he says.

Farmington, New Mexico's public library, also designed by Hidell and Associates Architects.

During the six years he's been back in Albuquerque, Coulie has sharpened his approach to photographing buildings and residences. "I like to walk in and experience a building," he notes. "I don't just come in with a bunch of flowers or a bowl of bell peppers and snap a shot. I like a forced perspective."

For the most part, Coulie works alone. "I have a strong work ethic and like the physicality of photography," he says. He shoots digitally, but misses the hours he spent as a student in the darkroom. "I liked the tactility of being in the darkroom. You don't really have that today with digital."

These days you'll find Coulie juggling clients and projects, rather than tables and lunch orders. "There's still an element of being back in the restaurant business," Coulie reflects. "I like being busy and being in the rhythm of work."

Patrick Coulie Photography, Albuquerque, NM; (505) 463-2692 or www.patrickcoulie.com.