Yet another from the 2004 trip series. Once again, I applied the black and white effect after the fact. Sadly it's a bit grainy but I still like the shot.
(Taken with a Minolta Maxxum 4000si 35mm SLR.)
In shots like this, specially when the sky is cloudy black and white allows you to boost the contrast and not distract your viewers by the dull colors. It allows you to emphsize the shapes and textures in your image - in this case the quay and the massive rock poking out of the ocean. The image is a good study of the use of black and white. The grain is a bit distracting, though.