Boring to Great Black & White Photos

I love taking pictures and seeing how well they come out. I love even more being able to play with the photo to make it look how I really want it to. Right now I've been working with Photoshop Elements 3.0. I could upgrade to 7 but why bother when I finally get use to using 3. I love all my options and just playing around.


Lately I've been trying to make my Black & White photo's pop a little more. Usually when you convert your photo to black and white, it looks kinda boring. I've found tutorials online showing how to pump up the photo using curves, but you have to have PS-CS3 (which is too large and way too expensive). So, I began playing around with my levels and I finally found a way that makes me happy with the end result.


Basic black & white conversion. Not bad, but a little boring.



Converted black & white using levels. Adds a little more life to the photo. I love it!



Stats:
The above photo was taken using my Nikon D60, Lense: AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm 1:4-5.6G, shutter: 1/200, aperture: F6.3, exposure mode: aperture, exp.+/-: -0.3.
Edited by Photoshop Elements 3.o using Gradient Map and Levels.