GUIDE TO AMES
ACCOMODATIONS
-Air BNBs. This one is owned by friends of ours and is just a short drive from the studio.
-Closest hotel is the Days Inn on Duff Ave. We have stayed here and it is what you’d expect from a cheap hotel. The perk is this is the closest hotel to our studio, and the only one within walking distance of our activities (7 blocks)
-Iowa House (405 Hayward Ave, Ames, IA 50014) - unique local experience. a refurbished fraternity near Iowa State’s campus and a bus ride away from the studio.
-A variety of 2 and 3 star hotels (and motels) are located in clusters off of the highway. Since we live here, we haven’t stayed in many of them. The high end would be the Hilton Garden Inn, and we’ve heard a lot of people enjoy the Best Western Plus on University Avenue.
TO DO
-Walk through Iowa State University’s beautiful central campus. All the CyRide busses go to it, or you can park in the memorial union and walk from there!
-Visit the boutiques on Main Street (one block from our studio)
-Walk around Ada Hayden lake (for you morning walkers)
-Visit Reiman Gardens
NIGHT LIFE
-Della Viti wine bar
-Time Out arcade Bar
-Alluvial Brewery and Prairie Moon Winery (next to each other)
MORNING COFFEE
-Cafe Diem - charming local coffee shop
-Morning Bell - if you’re a coffee snob that likes good coffee without mix-ins, this is the place for you.
-If you’re scared to try new things, Starbucks.
OUR FAVORITE PLACES TO EAT
-Wheatsfield Co-Op. - Locally sourced food, juice bar, coffee shop, and hot food bar. We highly recommend the breakfast burritos! Located near the studio.
-The Cafe - An Ames staple, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
-Provisions Lot F - Dan’s cousin is a chef here! Another good option for breakfast.
-The Spice - Thai restaurant located on Main Street near the studio.
-El Azteca - Mexican
PACKING LIST
WHAT TO BRING:
-Camera and lenses!
-Layers. Iowa Spring can be hot or cold (quite temperamental), so t-shirts and jackets would be wise.
-Comfortable shoes. We will be on our feet a lot during the shooting days, so stay comfortable!
-Questions. The more you have a plan for what you want to learn, the better we can help you learn it.
WHAT NOT TO BRING:
-Lights (unless you want to practice using your specific brand). We will be providing Paul Buff Einsteins + batteries + triggers + modifiers. We think it’s very important to learn to control flash without TTL and HSS. Plus lights are a pain to travel with, so now you don’t have to. If you have a specific modifier you’re wanting guidance with, post in the facebook group and we’ll do our best to provide it!
-Computer. Unless you want it for note-taking or emailing on your own time. You won’t need a computer for our lessons. The retouching segment will be “watch-only” but will be screen recorded so you can take it home and re-watch rather than worry about note-taking.