"so what did you learn when making cyanoptyes?"

I asked them. 

- that doing photography is fun!  [yay!  that's all right, then.  Mission Accomplished!]

- that you need patience

- that there are Lots of Variables [well, yes.  Variable 1 was that - for once in SoCal, the sun wasn't out - not till we'd finished class, anyway.  I joked that when I moved from New Jersey, I'd boasted that I'd never have any problem making cyanotypes with a class, because there'd be sunshine.  Harrumph.  But, indeed, the UV light is so strong, even in haze, that the paper bleached quite happily under people's leaves, watches, jewelry, plastic containers, sunflowers, leaves, ziplock bags, keys, etc.]

- that you need skill [yes, o cellphone photo generation, yes].

What I learned (other than the fact that USC's fountains are just perfect for rinsing prints) is that a banana skin that someone used worked remarkably well; that as ever, I wish I had 40 sheets of glass to hand out to keep flowers etc, flat - much though I like the sense of evanescence and 3D-ness that one can get when things aren't pressed; and that next time I do a cyanotype, I'm going to try a feather. One student's fluffy ? ostrich feather turned out just beautifully, and I'm dismayed that I didn't take a picture of it - but here are some rather fine blossoms, instead.