Todays technical tools (cameras) allow anyone to create art (most now have “art filters” when you image) and while you don’t have to have formal art training to do this, your final product is limited by a constrained tool set. Like any fine art, one needs to spend years learning the mechanics of creating fine digital art. I would suggest that you first learn the scope of the tools your equipment provides (meaning take a “normal” photograph) and then take a set using the digital artistic tools your camera contains. Using art filters can give you a concept from which more powerful tools such as Lightroom/Photoshop or On1 software (and many others) can be used to create your final vision. When I image for Black and White images I often shoot three straight images 2 F stops apart, combine into an HDR images (LR or Photoshop) and then use On1 BW to complete the specific look I am trying to achieve.

I cannot produce from my current equipment equivalent BW images. Here are a few samples  showing the end results: