It is sometimes amazing how much you can add to a picture, if you take something away. I really start to appreciate this in black & white photography. Although, I seldomly shot especially for Black & white, I sometimes post-process it like this. One thing I learned is, that contrast in black and white serves a different purpose than in color pictures. A picture that might look too contrasty and too extreme in color, might be right on spot in B&W.
One example for this is the picture below of the Boston College. I decided to make a B&W out of it, because the color version looked too artificial and is also the distracting construction zone is not so visible. I think you can see the effect if you compare the pictures fullscreen use the following link [View with PicLens]
B&W also serves the purpose to emphasize a particular mood. I made the photo below from a beautiful mansion in New Port. It was spring and the trees didn’t have already leaves. So I decided to make a B&W out of the shoot. I like the resulting atmosphere, looks a bit vintage.
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Nicely done!! All my monochrome work is done in post processing but I usually have a good idea when I am taking the photo that it will be monochrome in the end.Monochrome makes the details just come alive and people see the beauty rather than the color
Thank you, Cj. I just checked out your photos and they are awesome. Do you have a flickr account. I would like to follow you