Full marks for catching the "disappearing act" reference.
Glad you liked the image.
As Minnie also already suggested, the point of using this kind of up-close framing, is to create a sense of immersion for the viewer.
In documentary images revolving around people (and their environments), I am a strong believer in the words of Robert Capa: "If your picture is not good, you were not close enough". Hence my love for extreme wide angle lenses: they just create a sense of actually being there.
Wide angle does however often bring the challenge of hiding the photographer himself (unless adding a shadow selfie is part of the idea).
I can't count the occasions where I have positioned myself sideways in front of a tree (and then held my breath and pulled in my gut) to hide my shadow in the shadow of that tree... Mirrors are even more challenging. I don't usually mind if my reflection is "discovered" upon close scrutiny, but I don't ever want it to dominate the image.