Aha 

i really like this
one suggestion? if i may?
more contrast, not enough white, all gray.
but a fantastic shot!

thnks midwesternstock - you're right - I suppose what I did is use the desaturation in PS, which is always bad - original is color, but from an ancient digital camera - I'm not always in the mood to polish things up; this came from the batch I transported from flickr, when I moved here

really, desaturation did this? what version of PS are you using? ive only used desaturate a few times to add little smudges of color, and have never had this occur. well maybe i added contrast afterwards? i dont recall(;

CS2 (and if you can find me a fresher "portable" version, I'd be mighty pleased) - desaturation is, I read, the worst thing to do to convert into B&W - but then, at first I was only glad to be able to turn PS on and off again, let alone do something with it ...

it may be the worst thing to do nut i havent experienced that result, so i would have to disagree. take a look at the shots i have with just a touch of color on one particular object in the shot. the B&W is great.

some examples,
www.ipernity.com/doc/16840/3658769?from=3658773&at=1229537701
www.ipernity.com/doc/j.elkins/3773347
www.ipernity.com/doc/16840/3671352?from=3671357&at=1229703948
www.ipernity.com/doc/16840/3671351?from=3671357&at=1229703948

fair enough; though taking the pic to greyscale, improve contrast/lighting, and when desired add a touch of color brings me better results than mere desaturation - maybe it's just taste after all - some of my experiments ar on f*** (scroll back from the last)