Using simple visual techniques, any camera can lead to creative photographs.

photo by: Mike Yoder

I focused on some wetland cattails as a visually dominant foreground to create an image with a sense of greater depth and interest. After framing, I waited until my friends pedaled past in background to incorporate them into the scene. The image documented a specific locale and experience of a vacation.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Using a mini-tripod mounted on my point-and-shoot camera, I opted for a self-timer shot. Unlike the limited vision of a handheld selfie, I was able to give careful consideration to the scene - an old railroad car - and frame for a more interesting visual.

photo by: Mike Yoder

The interesting cafe ceiling display of antlers caught my eye first. But rather than photograph just the ceiling, I put my camera at a low angle to include my cycling friend Tom Mersmann in the foreground. The photo now has a greater sense of depth and a viewers eye moves between two visually interesting subjects.

photo by: Mike Yoder

I rode ahead of the group at one point to seek out a high vantage point so I could photograph the cyclists, Rio Grande river and a stretch of highway in the same frame. Different perspectives provide unique views to many subjects.

photo by: Mike Yoder

A morning sunrise created a high contrast scene that I found unique. I used the bicycle to anchor the scene and to keep it symmetrical and balanced. I usually work with manual exposures to get the visual results that I want. Auto exposure in this situation would probably have resulted in the camera exposing for the dark area which was not my intent.

photo by: Mike Yoder

An informational roadside display draws the attention of bicyclist Shirley Hitt. Using the foreground display and a space between panels to frame the subject added more info and creativity to a potentially boring scene. This technique is not hard, but you do need to be willing to move your position, in relation to the frame and the subject, to catch the proper alignment.

photo by: Mike Yoder

A lot of people will tell you to never photograph into the sun. Ignore them and experiment. You're not wasting film, just digital space. Besides, you can end up with some unique images even if they look a little weird. As we were about to leave our campsite, in the cold of an early morning, I liked the way the sun filtered through the trees, behind my friends and over our campsite. I took 4 quick shots in hopes of capturing the feel of that sunrise starting to warm us up.

photo by: Mike Yoder

A visual device I enjoy keeping an eye out for is juxtaposition. That is the idea of placing similar or dissimilar subject matter together in the same frame to create a new understanding of the image. I think of them as one-panel comic strips. We got in a long line of construction zone traffic when we approached this horse trailer. The coincidence was humorous and appropriate to our cycling adventure. Having a camera with you at all times, is a key to capturing interesting images.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Everybody on our bicycle ride carried a point-and-shoot camera, so a scene like this was inevitable. My image captures both Shirley and Doug Hitt photographing each other and a resting Tom Mersmann. Shirley, left, is seen taking a low-angle perspective to add additional creativity to her shot. Rewards in your photography are more plentiful when you have a camera, no matter the quality, with you at all times.

photo by: Mike Yoder

I'm as much a sucker for a good sunset as the next photographer, so I'm not apologizing for shooting this one over the Great Sand Dunes in CO. But make sure you don't overexpose the brightest parts of the sun itself. By setting your camera image capture to JPEG + RAW, you can later pull back more detail in the shadows of photos with a wide dynamic range. If you don't have RAW or similar settings like NEF, ARW etc., or you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, you're probably ok leaving your camera on automatic and letting it find a balanced exposure for this kind of scene. But setting your exposure manually can provide more control. When in doubt, bracket your exposures in manual settings, taking both under and over-exposed photographs. Later you can see what worked best.