Little Island
Little Island
Join our photo lessons at Little Island, one of the premier New York venues in our rotation, offering an incredible variety of photographic opportunities in every season.
Venue Description:
Little Island is one of New York City’s most unique public parks—a floating, sculptural landscape built atop 132 concrete “tulip” columns rising above the Hudson River. Opened in 2021 and designed by Heatherwick Studio and landscape architect Signe Nielsen, the park blends imaginative architecture with lush gardens, winding paths, and dramatic overlooks. Its elevated pods, textured plantings, and sweeping views of Manhattan make it an inspiring outdoor classroom for photographers of all levels.
Throughout the workshop, your Digital Photo Academy instructor will guide you through a variety of composition techniques tailored to the park’s distinctive features.
Practice capturing the sculptural curves of the tulip columns from the South Bridge, using strong angles and leading lines to emphasize their shape. Experiment with framing cityscape views through clusters of trees or architectural cutouts along the pathways. On the lawns and overlooks, use wide-angle lenses to highlight the interplay between organic plant forms and the geometric concrete structures.
As you move through the park’s tiered elevations, explore how changing vantage points affect perspective—shooting from low angles to emphasize height, or from upper overlooks to create layered, sweeping panoramas. Sunlight creates opportunities for atmospheric landscape shots, while shaded areas offer the chance to work with diffused light for intimate plant and texture studies.
Every corner of Little Island offers new lines, colors, textures, and vantage points, making it an exceptional setting for developing your creative eye and strengthening your compositional skills.
Know Before You Go:
Bring your camera or cellphone and any gear you can comfortably carry. Make sure batteries are fully charged and memory cards have space. Dress for the weather, wear comfortable shoes for walking, and plan for some uphill paths. Sun protection is recommended.
Parking –
Little Island does not have a parking lot. The nearest paid garage is:
MPG Manhattan Parking
450 West 17th Street (between 9th & 10th Ave)
You can find and reserve parking at this garage — and compare rates at nearby garages — by visiting mpgparking.com and entering the address along with your date and time.
Meeting Spot:
Meet your instructor under the Cunard White Star Pier (Pier 54) Archway. From there, everyone will walk across the pedestrian bridge to Little Island together.
This landmark is directly across from the Little Island entrance, and easy to find.
Address:
55 East River Piers
New York, NY 10014
(This is the official address associated with the Cunard White Star Pier structure.)
Click here for a Google Map directly to this meeting spot.
See the screenshots below!
Contact Us:
Call Digital Photo Academy at 1 877 372 2231. Lots of people seem to hang up if our welcome recording comes on instead of a live voice, but we promise to return your message within a day or two if you leave one with your name and number. It would be even better if you included your e mail address as well as the date and city of the class you are considering. If leaving a voice mail message is not your thing, please email us at DPAbooking@digitalphotoacademy.com or Richard@digitalphotoacademy.com.
E-MAIL US AT DPAbooking@digitalphotoacademy.com OR CALL 1-877-372-2231 OR click here TO LEARN ABOUT OUR PRIVATE ALL DAY OR HALF DAY CLASS
And in case you’re interested, click here to check out some FREE SAMPLES of our ONLINE CLASSES
