Dressed in warm clothes and armed with cameras, they dash into the darkness, searching for views of the aurora borealis. With them doing the work, the rest of us can stay inside where it’s warm and enjoy the fruits of their labors — “Aurora: A celebration of the Northern Lights,” a book featuring some of Anderson and Parkhurst’s finest photographs.

“Witnessing and recording the unique beauty of auroras is reason enough for enduring long hours of cold and darkness,” Anderson told the Homer News. “There is something serene and spiritual about being out on a crisp, sub-zero night, waiting quietly in the dark for the aurora to come alive. When it does, I feel an immense exhilaration.”

Anderson began photographing the aurora in 1985 as a way to showcase his talent. At the time, Parkhurst was the only photographer he knew of that was doing the same thing. But it was 10 years and thousands of photos later before the two met. Anderson suggested the possibility of collaborating on a book and from that a friendship was formed.

“Few people were willing to stand all night on a frozen lake in sub-zero temperatures waiting for something that may or may not happen before sunrise,” Anderson said. “Dave was.”

Across the 72 pages of the book, photos reflect the years of experience Anderson and Parkhurst have invested in their pursuit, subjecting themselves to extreme temperatures, the ever-present possibility the aurora won’t show itself and the chance of unwanted encounters with wildlife. Like the time near Talkeetna when the two — armed only with their cameras; lacking pepper spray or guns — had settled into a clearing that offered views of Mt. McKinley and the Alaska Range.

“A small branch snapped in the distance behind us,” Anderson wrote. “Dave and I turned to look at each other and raised eyebrows in the dim moonlight. ... The sound of rustling leaves and breaking twigs in the brushy undergrowth was slowly coming nearer. Although neither of us could see the source of the noise, Dave whispered urgently, ‘It’s a bear!’”

Rewards for their efforts are etched deeply in their memories, as well as in the book.

“On a handful of occasions, the sudden commencement of a bright and shifting aurora has caused a distant pack of wolves to bay,” Anderson writes. “This was no strange coincidence. We have heard wolves howl at least a half dozen times when the aurora burst forth with ample brilliance to distract or excite any terrestrial being.”

Explanations of the aurora formed by various northern cultures are offered, including tales from the Chukchi Sea region, the Bering Sea, Yukon and Koyukuk rivers area, as well as out-of-state and out-of-country. Also included are explanations from the science community, including Syun-Ichi Akasofu, director of the International Arctic Research Center in Fairbanks and author of “Aurora Borealis: The Amazing Northern Lights.” The aurora as energy, as simultaneous events at the north and south poles and as a growing tourist attraction also are addressed by Anderson and Parkhurst.

The authors unselfishly share with readers the type of film they use, shutter speeds and a reminder that cold temperatures require a good supply of batteries.

And then there is the most important tip of all: “Through many years of stumbling around in the dark, Dave and I have become excruciatingly familiar with the most basic principal of aurora photography: a stubbornness to persevere through toe-numbing cold is far more important than the technical aspect,” Anderson writes.

“Aurora: A celebration of the Northern Lights,” by Cary Anderson and Dave Parkhurst, published and distributed by Greatland Graphics, 72 pages, $15.95.