So don't set out and try to shoot a high contrast shot unless you find a good opportunity with the right lighting. Try shooting on an overcast day. It will soften the whites and blacks and result in a B&W image with more depth and gradient between the light and shadows.

The natural contrasts that come with black and white photography really bring into focus the texture of certain surfaces such as skin, fur, dirt, metal, wood, etc. in a way that color photography simply doesn't.

To add a missing person. Explanation: Mathew Brady offered to photograph William Tecumseh Sherman along with all of his generals. Blair (the man added to the photo) missed the sitting, and he is missing from the first set of photographs.