Black and white conversion was made in Photoshop CS3 using Lab Mode, discarding the A & B channels, then converting to grayscale and using levels adjustment to manipulate the tonal range. (Leave the Alpha channel off) Then I reset the mode back to RGB before flattening and final sharpening the image. You can also do dodging and burn if necessary. Sounds complex, but once you try it a couple of times it’s not too hard.
