Definitely singled him out, the blurry figures in the foreground really add to the feel. Would have been interesting if there were a few more figures, at different distances to add to more levels of being 'singled out' but I guess from where you were taking it you probably couldn't have controlled that. Colors are very sharp, I personally have no complaints about bright highlights and harsh shadows.
Good answer to the challenge. so many entries just never got there. If there was anything in the "negativeA' that allowed you to lower the contrast on the dark side of his face I personally might have done that.