Into the wild

From massive, snarling grizzly bears to timid, stumbling fawns, the world's forests house an astounding diversity of creatures — one that can be hard to capture.

But Andreas Lie, a digital artist based in Bergen, Norway, does just that with his stock-photography mash-ups, a collection of moody, double-exposure images that reveal the array of his homeland's native species.

(Andreas Lie)

The job of merging two pre-existing photographs seamlessly together requires a keen eye, Lie, 24, says, and he is constantly considering the compatibility of various stock photos, wondering how an animal's fur will combine with the forests' trees, or whether a tail is bushy enough to house an entire mountain range.

(Andreas Lie)

By blending the animals' furry coats with their woodsy surroundings and placing the subjects in a softly muted space, Lie limits the images' context to the creatures themselves. In doing so, the artist says he seeks to remind us that animals are offspring of the untamed wilderness that surrounds them — and that the unpredictable forces of nature and its beasts remain inexorably intertwined.

Below, step into Lie's wild world — but watch your back: You never know what's lurking close behind.

(Andreas Lie)

**See more of Andreas Lie's work on his website, check out his webstore on Society6, and follow him on Instagram**