I felt this was a little out of the box due to the fact I photographed this as a vertical. And the fact that I used the camera's white balance setting to help achieve the sky color I wanted.
I photographed this with a Nikon D1X and a 80-400mm.
The image was photographed as a Vertical so I would have a larger file size and I like as much done in camera as possible.
I set the WB to cloudy -3, (you can use between 8000-10000k for a similar effect)
and exposed the image at -1/3 stop for a stark silhouette.
.......... James it went over my head also but sounds so good I have to agree It sort of goes into the category .... you can observe a lot by watching !!!!
I love that you shot this as a vertical and I think you positioned him within the space perfectly but the color of the sky is what REALLY caught my eye. That orange -toned sky is mahvelous!
I hope I haven't opened a can of worms here. I admire what you've done and as a photographer I recognize the technical difficulties you overcame, and did so very well. But the picture doesn't grab me as a work of art (just my opinion fwiw) maybe because it has only two colors and no detail (not your fault, it's just what it is.. a great graphic).
It isn't the verticalness that gets my attention. I like the black silhouette against the orange background. Stark as you said, but that isn't the word I would use. The silhouette is crisp and so very pelicany.
Pelican
