Blurring the Foreground (in Bird Photos)

I've seen a number of bird photos with both the foreground and background blurred and the bird is framed between the two. While a blurred background almost always adds to the quality of the shot, I find I'm not so happy with the blurred foreground. For me, some sense of the environment the bird is in helps set the scene. I'm curious how others feel about this. Is a blurred foreground something to strive for in our bird shots?

I think it's a matter of taste in most instances. I like to have some sharp habitat in many of my images but sometimes the shooting situation dictates otherwise. Here are some examples. If the foreground would be busy and therefore distracting then it can sometimes be more pleasing for it to be out of focus rather than sharp or somewhat out of focus (I find really out of focus is often better than somewhat out of focus). If you are shooting from a very low angle (lying on your stomach) then you will often end up with a blurred foreground in addition to the background. I think in that situation often the additional intimacy with the subject from the low angle more than makes up for the foreground being blurred. Sometimes in these cases the blurred foreground can be cropped out but sometimes that would result in an unbalanced composition. But it also depends on individual style and tastes, some prefer to have a lot of habitat in their images and some prefer to have a limited depth of field to really isolate the bird.

A blurred foreground with a sharp background seldom works. A blurred background with a sharp foreground is the most common and works well. A blurred foreground that acts as a frame, exposing , say, just the head of the bird is very effective. It gives a sense of it seeing of revealing something in its natural habitat.

I feel that the blurred part of the image does provide part of the environment when done well.

I know Brad Hill (wildlife moderator here) often talks about avoiding those types of "focus zones" (specifically, the OOF, sharp, OOF "sandwich" where all three zones stretch across the frame). However, when it's executed thoughtfully and carefully, it can be very artistic, dramatic and downright beautiful. The most obvious NPN photographer to point to on how to do it right would be Hans Overduin (in my opinion, anyway!). He consistently creates stunning, low-point-of-view images that are simply beautiful...it's become a clearly identifiable aspect to his style to the point of being an aesthetic signature. I think this is what Nate was getting at above: not only is it a personal preference issue, but it can really vary from situation to situation. When the situation is right, I tend to try to work a soft foreground into the frame but am increasingly careful about exactly how it impacts and interacts with the rest of the composition.