Guitarist Alex Skolnick has spent the last few months photographing the deserted streets and historic protests of New York City
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Afew years back, Alex Skolnick was working on a limited-edition magazine called UNBUILT, with his friend Randy Blythe from Lamb Of God. One of the assignments involved shooting with a Polaroid camera, which made Alex put more care than usual into his pictures. He’d received the occasional compliment for his photography before, but had never had an urge to pursue it seriously. That changed when Randy identified his talent.
“Randy took notice and suggested I try a ‘pro’ camera”, remembers Alex. “Besides being the singer of Lamb Of God, he’s a truly a next level photographer. He loaned me one of his Leica cameras and gave me a few tips while we were on tour together. I quickly realised I had to have one of my own.”
“THIS ALMOST FEELS LIKE MY CIVIC DUTY”
ALEX SKOLNICK
He got the fixed-lens Leica Q, celebrated by street photographers, and within a few months he felt as though he’d found his ‘voice’. “Having a creative process already in place from music probably helped speed things along,” he explains.
When the pandemic hit New York City, Alex’s home since the late 1990s, he began documenting its empty landscape and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests. Cycling made it easy for him to quickly move from one place to another, while staying socially distant and getting in some exercise. The shots on these pages were taken while paused on his bike, or with it set down nearby.
“This past year, it was wonderful to be able to capture high-quality images from Eastern Europe to Nepal,” says Alex. “I was looking forward to the same in Australia, Japan and many other places in 2020, until concerts – and with them, my world travel – came to a screeching halt. However, the travel photography was quickly replaced with a new mission: capturing historic moments caused by a global pandemic and social unrest. This almost feels like my civic duty, as long as I have these skills and reside in an epicentre of it all.”
SEE MORE OF ALEX’S IMAGES AT ALEXSKOLNICK.NET. TESTAMENT’S NEW ALBUM, TITANS OF CREATION, IS OUT NOW VIA NUCLEAR BLAST
The boardwalk at Coney Island. “This was in early May while we were still in peak ‘shutdown’ mode. I was up for a good ride that day, and it’s about seven miles away from where I am. The weather was cloudy and overcast, my favourite for shooting black and white. I hit the jackpot with many shots that day, including the iconic thrill rides Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone, all deserted and under eerie clouds. Yet there’s something about this boardwalk, the closed shops, the empty tables and the happy hot dog – the mascot of Nathan’s Famous – that really captures the moment.”
Barclays Center 1. “The Barclays Center is an indoor arena, home to the NBA’S Brooklyn Nets and where I’ve seen concerts by Rush, Iron Maiden and others. This was on the first Saturday after the tragic murder of George Floyd. The night before, a protest here had become confrontational. Numerous acts of violence were caught on video, which – at least at this location – consisted mainly of police overreaction to protesters. I’d been nervous to ride down there but it was still daylight, with things still calm. Protesters chanted, cops kept watch, but there was no confrontation. Here we have two officers in riot helmets walking past signs with such slogans as, ‘Police The Police’ and ‘No More Killer Cops’.”
Barclays Center 2. “This was taken moments after the previous photo, just after
I’d pedalled across the street to get a wider shot. The crowd, which was far larger than I’d realised and would extend several city blocks, suddenly began
marching. I happened to be right in their path, along with one or two other photographers. No one seemed to mind walking around us and were welcoming of the moment being documented. The fellow on the left holds a sign that says ‘Jews For Black Lives’. Similar signs from Asians, Latinos and other communities
are frequent, reflecting the unprecedented diversity of this movement.”
Brooklyn Bridge. “I’ve taken many shots on the Brooklyn Bridge these past few weeks. Yet this one seems to perfectly represent the two major events we’ve been living through. On the left-hand side, there is
the Brooklyn Bridge walkway, nearly deserted. On the right-hand side, which is normally off limits to pedestrians, you’ve
got a jam-packed protest. Fortunately, everyone wore masks, outdoors infection rates are down and as of now, there are no reports of infections from protests. Even after a few weeks, there was no sign of
protests letting up. This one was on Juneteenth, which added to the energy.”