Begineer togger, first black and whites

[LesFraser]

I like the feel black and white gives to and image, the trouble i'm having is what looks good? I get a little tunnel vision when processing B&W, i have tried to bring out the detail the old mans face using channel mixer and fiddling with the exposure ect.
Composition wise, is the background to distracting? I removed the background on one copy but i found it created to much dead space.

A quick capture my wife took of a family friend.

1/80 ISO200 f/2.8 50mm (prime)

DSC_0568 by TheLesFraser, on Flickr

 

[LesFraser]

Anyone willing to give some feedback?

 

[dxqcanada2 1]

What is in the background ? Does it add something to the subject ?

The darker area at the top should be cropped out.
Maybe lighten up the background but not too much to wipe it out.