Recently, a well-known landscape photographer went on a wildlife shoot. His realisation was that even though he wanted to capture an imposing image of his subject - in this case a tiger - he had to capture it with some context that actually enhanced the image. I think this idea extends to landscape photography as well. As much as we like to capture detail and in many cases a more intimate scene, the surroundings often provide interesting textures and detail which enhance the main subject. A lot like bit actors in a movie. Another element that contributes a lot to b&w images is the grey scale range and how it is distributed throughout the image. In this case the backlit area adds some dimension but there are also highlights in the foreground. In landscape photography it doesn’t work that well to crush the blacks unless the detail in shadow areas are a distraction. The milky reflections in the water give a softer, dreamier feel to the image.