JC ... I liked the second alot more than the first. I love B&W, and I am starting to like the "splash of color" (a company In Cleveland TN... Right D

. As PG said to me that best use of B&W is in the people not the backgrounds. To me the background is in the back for a reason it is not the focus of the work. Unless you are trying to bring out something from the back.
OK like I said I am a photoshop person. I use Lightsroom to color correct and batch name changes and such. I am used to PS because I have played with it more.
OK for you Gimpy people.... I have been playing with it for a little while today. I am not sure if I am doing something wrong with Gimp but I can not get the healing brush or the Blur to do much at all. With PH I click the Htool and alt click on a spot to use and then take care of the spots needed.