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STUDENT NOTES

Terms 2-3, 2015

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................... 4

Welcome to the Chevron Focus Environment Competition .......................................................................................... 4 How do I enter the competition? ................................................................................................................................... 4 What do I need to do? ................................................................................................................................................... 4

CATEGORIES ................................................................................................................................................................... 5 COMPETITION RULES .................................................................................................................................................... 6 PRIZES ............................................................................................................................................................................. 6 DISCOVER ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7

Endemic – what exactly does this mean? ..................................................................................................................... 8 What are introduced species?....................................................................................................................................... 8 What are some ways for you to discover more about WA’s native species? ............................................................... 8

PLAY ................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 How a camera works ..................................................................................................................................................... 9 Parts of a camera .......................................................................................................................................................... 9 The Exposure Triangle ................................................................................................................................................ 10 Camera modes ............................................................................................................................................................ 10 Manual mode............................................................................................................................................................... 10

EXPLORE ....................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Tips for photography ................................................................................................................................................... 11

SHARE ............................................................................................................................................................................ 13 Writing a caption ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 What is the difference between a title and a caption? ................................................................................................ 13 How to write a caption ................................................................................................................................................. 13

FURTHER INFORMATION ............................................................................................................................................. 15 About Chevron Australia ............................................................................................................................................. 15 About Dr Harry Butler (AO) ......................................................................................................................................... 15

© Media Education / The West Australian 2015

All images are student submissions from the 2014 Chevron Focus Environment competition, unless noted.

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Chevron Focus Environment Competition Enter our Chevron Focus Environment competition for your chance to win great prizes!

Winning students and their schools will receive a cash prize.

Students might also have their winning entry published in a special edition of The West Australian’s ED!

Magazine on Tuesday, November 10.

How do I enter the competition? To enter, you must submit:

a photograph with a title that represents an aspect of the category in which it has been entered.

a caption of 25 words or less places the photograph into the context of the category for which it has been

entered.

The photograph and caption are equally important.

What do I need to do?

DISCOVER! Find out about WA’s unique species, the threats they face and how people can help

PLAY!

Grab a camera and spend some time developing photography skills

EXPLORE! Get outside and capture the diversity of our state’s plants, animals and landscapes

SHARE! Compose a captivating caption that highlights the biodiversity story of a favourite photo

Prizes will be awarded for each category in the following age groups: Years K-2, 3-6, 7-10 and 11-12.

A selection of the winning entries will be published in The West Australian on November 10, 2015.

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CATEGORIES

Choose one or more of the following categories to focus on:

on:

WA’s endemic species

on:

WA’s habitats and

ecosystems

on:

Celebrating human energy

and sustainability in WA

Show us examples of the many

species of plants or animals that are

native to WA.

Try distance and close-up shots and

choose the ones that are most

interesting.

Give us a peek into the homes of

some species that are native to WA.

Take us to the beach, to rock pools,

forests, desert or wetlands to see the

different landscapes where our

State’s native species ‘hang out’.

You might like to try taking a wide-

angle or panoramic shot.

Go in search of ways people are

positively connecting with WA’s

biodiversity and safeguarding it for

the future. For example, making

elements of nature more accessible

to people by building footpaths and

creating nature trails, caring for

injured or orphaned animals.

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COMPETITION RULES Entries close Friday September 25

Entry is FREE.

Entry is open to primary and secondary students in WA schools.

Entries must be submitted in the following subject categories to be valid:

o Focus on: WA’s endemic species.

o Focus on: WA’s habitats and ecosystems.

o Focus on: Celebrating human energy and sustainability in WA.

Judges are unable to accept:

o Photos from outside Western Australia

o Photos featuring plants or animals that are not native to Western Australia.

o Captions that are famous quotes or poems

o More than two entries per category per person

Entries must be the student’s own original work.

No joint entries will be accepted.

Entries must be uploaded via this website education.thewest.com.au/competitions. No alternative methods

of entry will be accepted.

For full terms and conditions, please visit education.thewest.com.au/competitions

PRIZES Winning students for each subject / age category, and their schools, will receive a cash prize following publication of

the winners’ edition of ED! Magazine on November 10, 2015.

Prizes will be awarded for each category in the following age groups. In addition, one of the prize winners from the

age and subject categories will be selected as the 2015 winner of the Harry Butler Award.

Years K-2 Years 3 to 6 Years 7 to 10 Years 11 to 12

Focus on: WA’s endemic

species

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

Focus on: WA’s habitats

and ecosystems.

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

Focus on: Celebrating

human energy and

sustainability in WA.

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

First prize

Second prize

Third prize

Harry Butler Award In addition, one of the prize winners form the age and subject categories

will be selected as the 2015 winner of the Harry Butler Award.

Cash prizes for each age group / category will be awarded as follows. Both the student and their school will win a cash

prize, with the exception of the Harry Butler Award.

STUDENT PRIZE SCHOOL PRIZE

First prize: $250 $750

Second prize: $150 $500

Third prize: $100 $250

Harry Butler Award: $500 -

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DISCOVER

Find out about WA’s unique species, the threats they face and how people can help.

It’s great that you are inspired to get out and about with your camera to find some evidence of WA’s biodiversity to

share with us.

But before you begin, answer these three questions.

How much do you know about WA’s unique wildlife, our State’s native plants and animals?

How much do you know about the threats they face such as introduced animals and invasive species?

How much do you know about the people working to protect WA’s rich biodiversity and endemic species?

If your answer to any of these questions is, ‘Not much.’, then now’s the time to actively engage in finding out more

until your answer to all three is, ‘Heaps!’

The judges are not just looking for pretty pictures. Your photograph and caption must tell them how much you know

about WA biodiversity, the threats it is facing and the help it is receiving.

Your entries must say

‘Here’s evidence of WA’s unique biodiversity, and all species are native to WA.’

‘Here’s evidence of WA habitats and ecosystems that shows interaction between WA’s native species and the

environment.’

‘Here’s evidence of people actively engaged in helping our State’s native species, showing that there are

ways we can all be involved in protecting our WA’s unique biodiversity.’

Capturing that perfect shot and composing a meaningful caption will be the reward for taking the time to learn about

our natural heritage.

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Endemic – what exactly does this mean? For the competition, we are looking at species that naturally occur in WA (ie they are native to WA). They may be

unique only to one particular area of WA (ie they are endemic to that area) or they may also naturally belong in other

areas of our State or they may be found anywhere across Australia. Judges will not accept photographs that feature

species that are not native to WA.

Image © The West

Australian

Image © The West

Australian

Image © The West

Australian

Image © The West

Australian

NUMBAT

EMU KOALA SHEEP

Endemic ONLY to

a certain part of

WA.

Native to WA

Not native to WA Introduced to WA

What are introduced species? Introduced species are those that do not belong in an area. The problems they cause include: preying upon local

species, taking over nesting sites and feeding grounds of local species, damaging the soil and preventing healthy

growth of local plants, competing with them for water and nutrients.

Find out what the terms feral and invasive mean. What are some examples of feral and invasive species in WA?

What are some ways for you to discover more about WA’s native species?

Talk to teachers, family and friends. You may be surprised at how much they can tell you!

Visit a native plant nursery.

Research not-for-profit groups that are helping local species; e.g. Project Numbat and Kaarakin Black

Cockatoo Conservation Centre.

Research the WA division of national bodies such as Landcare Australia and Greening Australia.

Browse through the websites of the Government of Western Australia’s Department of Parks and Wildlife

http://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/ and Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority http://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/

PLAY: Grab a camera and spend some time developing your photography skills.

While you are out and about learning about WA’s native species, you can also be developing your photographic skills.

For the competition, you can use whatever camera you have from a smart phone to a GoPro action camera or the

latest DSLR with interchangeable lenses.

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PLAY

Grab a camera and spend some time developing photography skills

How a camera works Whatever camera you have, it will help to have a basic understanding of photography.

Photography is possible because of light. The word, from its Greek origin, means drawing with light. To form an

image, a camera’s sensor (or film) must be exposed to light.

The passage of light through a camera

APERTURE LENS SHUTTER SENSOR

Light enters the camera

through the aperture at the

front of the camera.

The aperture opens and

closes like the iris of an

eye, letting in more or less

light as needed.

Light passes through a lens

which bends the rays of

light to focus on the sensor.

The focal length of the lens

is the distance between the

lens and the sensor. A

zoom lens has an

adjustable focal length.

When the focal length is

increased, the image is

magnified and the subject

appears closer.

When the shutter button on

the outside of the camera

is pressed, the shutter

opens allowing light to

reach the sensor.

In a digital camera, the

sensor is the most valuable

part of the camera. Its role

is to collect light and create

an image of the subject

being photographed.

The image is then split into

millions of pixels. The

colour and brightness of

each pixel is recorded as a

number and stored in the

camera’s memory card.

Parts of a camera The function of the aperture, the shutter and the sensitivity of the sensor are all inter-linked. Together, they are

known as the Exposure Triangle. They are the three things that affect the amount of light the sensor is exposed to.

The aperture, (measured in f-stops) opens and closes to allow more or less light into the camera.

The shutter opens and closes at different speeds, (measured in fractions of a second) allowing more or less

light to reach the sensor.

The sensitivity of the sensor, (given as an ISO value) changes depending on the amount of light that reaches

the sensor.

When the zoom function is being used, the lens moves to make sure the rays of light coming into the camera still

create a sharp image on the sensor.

focal length of the lens

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The Exposure Triangle

In automatic mode, the camera controls each function to achieve the best exposure. In semi-automatic mode, the

operator has some control and in manual mode, the operator has full control of all functions.

Camera modes

Automatic mode In most digital point and shoot cameras, including those in phones and tablets, the camera automatically adjusts a

virtual aperture, shutter and sensor to create the best possible image. In these cameras, it is possible to choose your

point of focus, use the flash and zoom in on distant objects.

DSLR cameras have automatic mode if the operator wants to take photographs without having to make any

adjustments but they also have two other modes.

Semi-automatic mode This mode gives you control over the exposure using either the ISO, aperture or the shutter speed.

Manipulate the ISO so you can take photographs in different light conditions. Discover which ISO works best

in sunlight, shade, moonlight or candlelight.

Change the size of the aperture to create an effect called depth of field. This shows some parts of the image

in focus while others are blurred. Discover how the different aperture sizes can blur the foreground, middle-

ground and background.

Change the shutter speed to take photographs in which something is moving. Discover how different shutter

speeds can freeze the action or show movement.

Manual mode

Manual mode puts you in control of all three parts of the camera; exposure (ISO), aperture and shutter speed.

Less exposure to light (eg ISO 100)

More exposure to light (eg ISO 1600)

Fast shutter speed (less light)

Slow shutter speed (more light)

Narrow aperture (less light)

Wide aperture (more light)

BRIGHTER CONDITIONS

OR FAST MOVING

DARKER CONDITIONS

OR SLOW MOVING

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EXPLORE

Get outside and capture the diversity of our state’s plants, animals and landscapes

Tips for photography Whatever type of camera you have, the most important thing for you to do is to get out there and start taking some

shots of WA biodiversity.

Explore the beach and its rock pools, desert areas, forests and wetlands. Find evidence in the layers of WA’s

landscapes of WA’s native plant and animal populations.

Get familiar with your camera. What features does it have and what do they do? Keep a note of the different settings

you use so you learn which ones create different effects. Like any new skill, photography requires lots of practice!

One thing every photographer has to learn, whatever camera he/she is using, is how to compose a shot. Try some of

these ideas.

Focus. What effect is created in the final image when you focus on points at different distances from you:

close by, medium distance, far distance?

The Rule of Thirds. Create an imaginary nine-square grid on the LCD screen. Line up points of interest with

the lines or intersections. This places them off-centre and gives you the scope to balance the shot with

something else and create interest by giving a point to focus on.

But remember, there will be times when you want the subject in the middle of the shot.

Fill the frame. For close-up shots, don’t be afraid to zoom in or move closer to the subject so they fill the

frame.

Bring distant subjects closer. The zoom feature will allow you to take a shot as if you were much closer to

your subject.

Move to the level of the subject. Lie down or climb up, whatever is necessary to take the shot from the

same level as the subject. (line of sight)

Look up, look down and all around. Shoot the subject from all angles. (line of sight)

Add a point of focus to landscape shots. Not only will this add interest to the photograph, it will also give a

sense of scale.

Check the surroundings. Is there anything you want to add or remove before you shoot?

Check the background. Do you need to reposition the subject or yourself to avoid a ‘photo bomb’ effect?

Vary the lighting. Use shade and part-shade. Take shots with the light source coming from different angles.

(front and back lighting) Be aware of shadows! Can you manipulate the functions to create an image in which

the subject is sharp and clearly visible?

Take multiple shots. The beauty of the digital camera is you can delete unwanted shots so it’s always worth

taking several of the same subject, with slight adjustments to each. After uploading and viewing them on a

computer screen, you can then choose the ones you want and trash the rest.

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macro, close-up, portrait or landscape. Not sure which mode to use? Try them all and see which gives the

image you’re trying to achieve.

macro shot

Do you want to see something in minute detail; e.g. the centre of a

blossom, an insect’s features? Then macro is the shot for you. What do

you have to do with your camera to achieve this shot in the detail you

require?

close-up shot

Why have you chosen it? What different patterns and textures does it

have? How much detail do you want the image to include? Walk around it.

Check the light and shadows. Take several photographs, from different

angles and levels, with and without the Rule of Thirds, the zoom function,

the focus lock and the flash, and any combination of these. Vary the

distance, measured in paces, from which you take each shot.

portrait/medium shot

Take time to record points of interest, where they are in relation to each

other and their relative sizes. How many places can you stand to get a

different perspective, ensuring all points of interest are always included?

Can balance be achieved from each perspective? Check the light and

shadows. How will they affect the shot? Can more shade be created?

Take several shot s from each perspective, with and without the Rule of

Thirds, the zoom function, the focus lock and the flash, and any

combination of these.

landscape/long shot

What are the points of interest and what proportion of the shot do they

take up? Is there anything to provide a sense of balance, of scale? Take

several shots from each, with and without the Rule of Thirds, the zoom

function, the focus lock and the flash, and any combination of these.

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SHARE

Compose a captivating caption that highlights the biodiversity story of your favourite photo

Writing a caption So, you’ve enjoyed finding out about WA’s biodiversity and learning a lot about our State’s native species; and you’ve

surely had a great time out in the field with your camera. You’ve put in a lot of time and effort getting this far and now

it’s time to write the caption.

In the competition, the photograph and the caption carry equal weight. You must give as much thought and effort to

writing the caption as you did to the other parts of the competition.

What is the difference between a title and a caption? A title gives a brief description of the photograph; e.g. Birds in a Nest. It states the obvious but says nothing

about the story behind the photo. It provides no context.

A caption can be described as the reverse of a title. It provides the context but it does not state the obvious.

The caption is also evidence of your understanding of the connection between the photograph and the

category in which it has been entered;

e.g. in the category, Celebrating Human Energy and Sustainability in WA, the caption for Birds in a Nest could

be,

Thanks to the efforts of the volunteers who restored their habitat, this breeding pair of native birds

has returned to the local area.

This caption would show your knowledge of the birds’ loss of habitat and your understanding of important

work carried out by the people who restored it.

There are some basic guidelines to follow when writing captions. Although they are all intrinsic parts of writing a

caption, they can be examined individually.

How to write a caption Whichever category you have entered, the process of writing a caption is the same.

Look at the photo and ask yourself what emotion it stirs. Does it make you smile and feel happy or sad or

angry? Your emotional response will help you in your choice of vocabulary.

Record all the information you have about the photograph. Answer the five Ws – Who is in it? What is

happening? When and where was the shot taken? Why did the event occur and why did you take the shot?

The answer to Why? is a very important link between the photograph and the category.

Explain why the photo is relevant to the category

WA’s endemic species

Name and describe the species and the area of WA where the photograph was taken.

WA’s habitats and ecosystems

Describe the habitat/ecosystem, identifying the inhabitants and their connection with the environment.

Celebrating Human Energy and Sustainability in WA

Describe the actions taken by people, identify any individuals or organisations involved, and their

goals. REMEMBER TO OBTAIN THEIR PERMISSION BEFORE PHOTOGRAPHING THEM!

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You were the photographer. You know why the shot is relevant to the category. So now, in your own words,

as if describing it to a friend, tell the whole story behind the photograph.

Highlight key words that are essential for explaining the context of the photograph. Cross out any words that

can be removed without losing the meaning of the text. Re-write your description. What is the word count?

Your limit is 25 words.

Underline all the words that are important to your caption. If there are too many, reduce them by changing the

vocabulary. Use single words that give the same meaning as a number of words; e.g. The numbat scurried.

instead of The numbat moved quite quickly.

If you need to, repeat this process until you are inside the word limit.

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FURTHER INFORMATION

About Chevron Australia Since 2004 Chevron Australia has been proud to host the Focus Environment competition as a way of encouraging

students to be aware of the world around them and the need to safeguard the environment for future generations.

As one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, protecting people and

the environment is a core value for Chevron. In Australia, the company leads the

development of the Gorgon and Wheatstone natural gas projects, is a foundation

participant in the North West Shelf Venture and is a significant investor in

exploration offshore northwest Australia and in the Bight Basin off the South

Australian Coast.

For more than 45 years, Chevron has been operating Australia’s largest onshore

oilfield on Barrow Island – which has retained its Class A Nature Reserve status

due to the company’s commitment to environmental excellence. For more

information about Chevron Australia visit www.chevronaustralia.com.

About Dr Harry Butler (AO) When Chevron first stepped on to Barrow Island more than 50 years ago, accompanying them was an enthusiastic

young conservationist named Harry Butler.

Dr Butler’s initial work as an environmental consultant to Chevron included establishing a quarantine program to stop

invasive weeds and feral pests getting to Barrow Island. This has developed into the world’s largest non-government

quarantine initiative and has ensured the island’s unique ecosystems and species remain intact, including 24 endemic

species only found on the island.

"In the Wild with Harry Butler", which aired on ABC TV in the 1970s with many repeat broadcasts, was one of the most

influential wildlife shows on television.

Today, he is recognised Australia-wide as esteemed Dr Harry Butler AO, having been appointed a National Living

Treasure by the National Trust, an officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia, Commander of the

British Empire, Australian of the Year and recipient of Chevron’s Environmental Hero Award.

Dr Harry Butler with the 2014 winner of the Harry Butler Award, Gabrielle Bright.