Ive concentrated on taking photographs during sunny days and evenings in the hope that the beautiful colours and shadows will show through in my photographs. However as ive been using mainly B+W ive realised the bright sun can bleach out a lot of the photograph as opposed to highlighting it. Instead of creating clear deep contrasts the lighter areas are often burnt away. I researched this on the net and found this :

When to Shoot
Many digital photographers actually prefer to shoot images for Black and White in low contrast situations. So an dark or overcast day can be a great time to shoot out door shots.
Ironically these are the days that those who shoot only in color sit at home complaining about the ‘poor light’. So next time you find yourself with a dark and gloomy day – shoot some black and white shots.

For the next shoot i do ill do it either inside or on an overcast day. I should then be able to make a comparison between images and decide which i prefer and why.