B&W vs Color

Been doing some experimenting with B&W trying to get a "feel" on the style.
C&C welcome
First two were on seperate trips:
1

S T Y L E ... Its coming along.
FWIW - I like darker contrast.
Its your call but I just feel extreme images should be more extreme.
Here is a Quickie using raw converter only ...

1. Color!
2. none

You need more tonal range....more contrast. I realize these are not quite the same photos below but they are from what you posted above....the bottom one is one I converted to black and white to give you an idea what you can achieve.

You need better light and much more contrast in your B&W's. The 2nd B&W (#4) is especially flat - the range of tones is small. With B&W photos the tonal range is very important - it's important to have a large range from white to black. Most of #4 is grays.

The composition could also use work. #2 isn't too bad, #3 just lacks a good subject.

What I think is most important with landscapes is to capture the emotion of a scene and convey that to the viewer. Light to me is what helps create emotion and then composition adds upon that. Technique and technical details are the final bit and often less important than some would make them out to be.

Think about what you want to say with an image and try to capture this. For the best light the hour before and after sunrise/sunset is usually best. The time of day in these shots is not nearly the quality of light. It's harsh and unforgiving and creates deep and hard shadows letting no detail shine through.

With something like the arch, if possible try to look at something like the Photographer's Ephemeris and see if you can find a location that would allow you to shoot the sun rising or setting through the arch - it will make a much more dramatic and emotional scene.