This image by Rodrigo Abd stopped me in my tracks today. Stunning. He is currently embedded with the 101st Airborne near Kandahar, where he and multimedia journalist Evan Vucci are PhotoBlogging about the experience. See their first dispatch about the difficult and dangerous conditions the soldiers are encountering and check back early next week for more posts.

Rodrigo Abd / AP
A U.S. Army soldier crosses an irrigated field during a patrol by the 1-320th Alpha Battery, 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division near COP Nolen, in the volatile Arghandab Valley, Kandahar, Afghanistan, Friday, July 23.