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Simply desaturating a color image generally will not result in a nice looking black and white photo. It will tend to be grayish and not have much contrast (this is why it's best to shoot in color and then convert later instead of letting the camera do the conversion). By manipulating the brightness of the different colors that make up the image, you can completely change the look of the photo. Here are a couple quick examples using your image.
In this one, the blues are boosted, and the greens are pulled out. So you get some bright sky, and then because there's a lot of green light on everything behind the main trunks in the front, that all becomes quite dark. So the bright white of the trees in the foreground jumps out. It has kind of a moody look to it.
http://www.myrealnameismatt.com/Misc/Miranda/aspens_greens_gone.jpg
In this one, the reverse was done. Blues were pulled out so the sky becomes darker, and greens were boosted so the foliage in the background becomes brighter, and the trunks stand out less. This one has a brighter mid-day sort of appearance.
http://www.myrealnameismatt.com/Misc/Miranda/aspens_with_greens.jpg
I normally do my work in LIghtroom, and don't have access to the computer with that software. So I can't provide instructions on how to do it in there. And my PS skills have subsided greatly since I started using LR. The tool I used was Image > Adjustments > Black and White.
You may already be aware of this, but Ansel Adams took some similar photos of Aspens. It might be worth looking at them to see how he constructed his images. http://photojournalistjournal.blogspot.com/2011/08/ansel-adams-aspens.html
Actually, now that I think about it. This could potentially help with your color photography because it might help you see what parts of the spectrum are contributing to your image, and how.
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