@Doc: You're not being harsh at all! Please don't apologise for this. I appreciate any comment you might have, because I myself are unsure how to improve my images. I understand what you mean with the layer of dull gray. Every conversion I did had some sort of dull gray veil over it. My best conversions are those which were made by an old P&S camera, where scenes were captured in harsh light with big contrasts. And it is exactly Birma and your comment about contrasts and low and high keys which made me think: would that be my problem with B&W conversions?
This picture I took has much more contrast between the cliff, air and sea. Does this mark a better conversion? I do think so, but the level of detail is a lot less than say one of my more gray conversions.
#4 Cliff
@Birma: thank you for your comments. It got me thinking about my conversions. I know that #1 isn't that special (it's just a banana), but the lighting struck me. If you have anything to add about the above, please do so.
Thank you both for taking the time to help me! It's really appreciated!
Mark