VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — When someone is color blind, they have trouble seeing certain colors, green and red tend to be colors that colorblind people tend to miss.
Chief Ranger Ethan Howes works in one of Virginia’s state parks. Unfortunately, he is color blind, certain colors appear duller to him.
“You can see the patterns but not the actual coloration,” said Howes.
To help out park lovers like himself, Howes said he had an idea to put an EnChroma-adapted viewfinder in his state park.
On Monday, EnChroma-adapted viewfinders were officially placed in every Virginia state park, including First Landing in Virginia Beach, Now, after an initiative was created almost a year ago. This is all in an effort to help colorblind visitors like Howes see the park’s true colors.
“I never thought I would impact people in that way. you know, working as a Park Interpreter and Chief Ranger,” he explained.
The purpose of these viewfinders is to provide colorblind guests with a “brighter” experience. The device specifically helps people with red-green Color Vision Deficiency (CVD) colorblindness who may visit the parks.
“It really highlights everything. it was amazing to see all the colors pop so much,” said Howes.
All 43 state parks throughout Virginia have at least one viewfinder.