B/W Photoshop question

[charr5]

Can someone tell me the BEST WAY to convert a color photo to Black and White with PS elements? I have not been pleased with my results. I want them to be very contrasty and pure B/W. Also is there a way to make them look more grainy B/W?
Thanks all.
CMH

[ssim]

You should be able to do this by selecting Enhance-Color-Remove Color. Then go to Filter-Noise-Add Noise. Finally you should select Enhance-Brightness/Contrast and then slide the bar until you have the contrast that you want.

Here is a sample that I did. This was adding 20% noise.

http://www.pbase.com/image/21311788.jpg

[charr5]

Thanks for the advice..I will try this technique.

Christopher