House, Sonoma

Couple of comments. If you are going to include the grass as foreground, why put it out of focus. With 8x10, if you are going to include it, use your movements (forward tilt) and put it into proper focus. Personally, I would move much closer to the house and tree and not use this foreground at all. It adds nothing to your composition.

Secondly, what 450mm lens that covers 8x10 could possibly have an f stop of f3.5? The lens must weight 10# On a tripod with 8x10 you should not hesitate to take advantage of this condition and shoot at an optimal f32-f45 and 1/4 to 1/2 second. I have made hundreds of 8x10 and have never shot faster than 1/15 of a second.

Just my $0.02

Thanks for your thoughts Michael.
The grass is out of focus because that's the way I like it. It appeals to my aesthetic. Of course you are correct, the lens is a f5.6 Nikkor, weighs about 20 ounces on a Toyo board.