Most photographers want a clear shot of their subjects. They don't want anything between them and the bird or animal they are photographing. The fear is that anything between their lens and the subject would ruin the image by being distracting and out of focus. This fear prevents many people from getting down really low, yes, down into the weeds and grass. Why would you do that, they ask, don't you want to get a clear shot? The answer is not always that simple. It all depends on how close the weeds and grass is to the lens versus to the bird or animal. If the weeds and grass is close to the lens rather than close to the bird, and if the light is right, that can make for a great image.

Do you feel that the out of focus grass in the foreground is distracting? To me, the out of focus foreground and background makes the bird stand out. With almost everything other than the bird out of focus, the bird draws the viewer's eye to itself immediately. Being very low down, right in the grass, and having grass close to the lens is what makes this image.  The eye contact is beautiful.

          Landscape photographers also use this technique to create depth if there is nothing better. It works well. To pull such images off, we have to place the foreground foliage very close to the lens and then focus as usual on the bird or deeper into the landscape. We want to totally blur the foreground. These kind of images place you right in the image. It feels as if you are laying there, watching the bird, in its habitat.