My attempt at back and whites

[Blue70]

I don't do much black and white work, but these two just looked right when I tried it

 

[sarallyn]

the first one is cool... I like the bridge in the background.

the second one is a little flat for me. it has a lot of mid tones.

 

[tirediron]

Well done; in #1 I think perhaps toning down the highlights on the background part of the river and lightening up the forground a little would make it even better; in #2, I would try toning down the highlights and upping the contrast, as Sara said, it's a tad flat. Nice job!

 

[Miaow]

Really like #1 The Truck in #2 looks REALLY old- I agree with the others on adding a bit more contrast on it

 

[Blue70]

Thanks for the tips guys..
I'll give that a try in a little bit

 

[brileyphotog]

I actually really like the second one, it has a nice film B&W look and not a "hey, I can bump up the contrast with PP!" look

Personally, I think lots of mids are fine as long as you have a subject that clearly dominates the image. That truck would certainly qualify.

 

[taracor]

The first one is a really cool image. I like it. I like the second one too, but i think it's just a tad overexposed, and I think that leads to it looking flat. I still think it's a pretty good photo though.

 

[Alpha]

In the first, the highlights are very nice, and I like the contrast, but there's far too little shadow detail in my opinion.

In the second you've got decent tones in the shadows and highlights but the midtone separation is very poor (i.e. it's all the same shade of gray).

 

[Blue70]

Thanks for the tips guys.
I really appreciate it!