I've never been overly fond of black and white photography.  With few exceptions, my initial reaction when seeing one is "I wish I could see that in color."  Because of this, I try to challenge myself every once in a while and shoot something with the intention of converting it into black and white.

rue anenome

rue anenome

The first think I look for in this case is texture since I find that is one aspect that really stands out in black and white.  Another feature is having a fairly wide color range so that you can get as many shades of gray as possible.  Along with that, you need strong whites and blacks.

In the above pair, I thing the texture of the log really stands out and contrasts nicely with the smooth textures in the leaves and flowers.  The dark shadows at the bottom also helps the bright flowers and medium-tone leaves.  So, overall it works nicely as a black and white image...but I still prefer it in color ;)