Combining grayscale and color imagery

I've used some black and white photos in my collage work in the past, but decided to try using the entire background as a grayscale image in this piece. I used a shadow to help the color image "hover" over the background; I also combined horizontal and vertical strips in the featured color image.

I find that most of the appeal of black and white photos is the starkness of the image and how it makes us see it differently. I'm not sure that effect carries into cutting the image into strips...more experimentation might be called for.

This piece is 11" x 14" and depicts the Big Sable Light near Ludington,  MI. The background is a sand dune on Lake Michigan.