I really like Daniel Kordan's images where he enlarges details in the foreground. I will show some of his work below with the corresponding sources. I wonder how these images are taken.
When the viewer gets introduced to the foreground rather close while keeping a good look at the distance too I immediately think of wide angle photography. However the background doesnt appear to be that far away as it should be with ultra wide angle lenses.
I can only think of two methods but they both dont seem to match.
1) The images are shot as vertical panoramic images with a wide but not ultra wide focal length. On one image the camera is pointed straight to the background and on the other image the camera is pointed down onto the foreground. I tried to replicate this method but I always get a very distorted foreground while his images look very natural. Maybe Im using the wrong stitching method.
2) The other method would be 'perspective blending' which I recently read about here. This method basically combines the foreground of an ultra wide angle shot with the background images taken with a little longer focal length (for example combining the foreground taken with 14mm and the background taken with a 24mm lens). This method is very intense in editing and is a step more in the direction of digital art. Since Daniel Kordan states on his website that National Geographic is a brand he works with I cant imagine that he would use such editing methods.
https://500px.com/photo/1036429538/kamchatka-by-daniel-kordan
https://500px.com/photo/1034181541/caucasus-by-daniel-kordan
https://500px.com/photo/1033759309/rhododendrons-at-caucasus-by-daniel-kordan