Capturing the Mountain West in Silver
03/31/2026 11:14AM ● By Haley Watkins
Photo courtesy of Kenzie Meadows.
The story of Great West Tintypes begins long before the first plate ever entered a silver bath. The business traces back to a backpacking trip in the Flattops during the 1980s, when Kenzie Meadows’ grandfather, father and uncle wandered into the town of Yampa and spotted a Victorian house sitting quietly in foreclosure. It was exactly the kind of home Kenzie’s grandmother had always dreamed of. So when her husband called to tell her about it, she did something bold: she bought it.
Since then, the 1897 house has served as a family anchor. “Some of my most vivid childhood memories are in that house,” Kenzie says. “Decorating bikes with my sister in the garage for the Fourth of July parade, my grandpa standing with the veterans, sparklers in the yard, fireworks overhead.” Years later, fresh out of college in Fort Collins, she moved into the house – a grounding, transitional season as she adjusted to life in Steamboat Springs. For her, the house has always been a touchstone.
With its century-old walls and a gallery of historic photos dating back to its construction, the Yampa home nurtured Kenzie’s fascination with history. That curiosity eventually led her to tintype photography – a chemical, hands-on process dating back to the mid-1800s.
“Tintypes are a great way for me to connect with people,” she says. “They’re a way to create an heirloom image for future generations, the same way my family has preserved history through our house.”
Kenzie’s interest in photography grew from years of backpacking and camping, but tintyping offered something different: a tactile, historical craft. With encouragement and expertise from her uncle, Frank, and cousin, Keith – both devoted to photography – she began teaching herself the wet-plate collodion process. She started Great West Tintypes in 2023, and today she creates each piece using a 1940s press camera retrofitted with a modern 3D-printed plate holder.
“In a general sense, it’s a historic, chemical-based form of photography that provides people with a physical image forged in silver,” Kenzie says. She describes the tintype process as equal parts meditative and chaotic. “The darkroom is soothing; the variables of weather, chemistry and timing are sometimes not on my side,” she says. “As an impatient person, it forces me to slow down and surrender to imperfection.”
During the Civil War, tintypes were cherished because they allowed soldiers to leave a piece of themselves behind. Today, Kenzie encourages clients to arrive exactly as they are – not in costume, not playing a part, but representing their true selves in this moment. “In 100 years, what do you want your family to know about you?” she asks.
Her clients are generally already familiar with tintypes and are searching for someone who can create them to commemorate the things they love most: pets, family, instruments. “It’s a pretty niche art form,” she points out.
In Steamboat, she has found a community that cheers her on – one that embraces quirky art forms and historic craftwork as much as she does. It’s a place that understands that sometimes the oldest processes feel the most alive.
In many ways, her story loops back to that Victorian house in Yampa – the home bought on impulse, restored with love and filled with generations of memories. It’s the place that taught her to honor the past and ultimately led her to a craft that freezes time, one silver plate at a time.
The story of Great West Tintypes begins long before the first plate ever entered a silver bath. The business traces back to a backpacking trip in the Flattops during the 1980s, when Kenzie Meadows’ grandfather, father and uncle wandered into the town of Yampa and spotted a Victorian house sitting quietly in foreclosure. It was exactly the kind of home Kenzie’s grandmother had always dreamed of. So when her husband called to tell her about it, she did something bold: she bought it.
Since then, the 1897 house has served as a family anchor. “Some of my most vivid childhood memories are in that house,” Kenzie says. “Decorating bikes with my sister in the garage for the Fourth of July parade, my grandpa standing with the veterans, sparklers in the yard, fireworks overhead.” Years later, fresh out of college in Fort Collins, she moved into the house – a grounding, transitional season as she adjusted to life in Steamboat Springs. For her, the house has always been a touchstone.
With its century-old walls and a gallery of historic photos dating back to its construction, the Yampa home nurtured Kenzie’s fascination with history. That curiosity eventually led her to tintype photography – a chemical, hands-on process dating back to the mid-1800s.
“Tintypes are a great way for me to connect with people,” she says. “They’re a way to create an heirloom image for future generations, the same way my family has preserved history through our house.”
Kenzie’s interest in photography grew from years of backpacking and camping, but tintyping offered something different: a tactile, historical craft. With encouragement and expertise from her uncle, Frank, and cousin, Keith – both devoted to photography – she began teaching herself the wet-plate collodion process. She started Great West Tintypes in 2023, and today she creates each piece using a 1940s press camera retrofitted with a modern 3D-printed plate holder.
“In a general sense, it’s a historic, chemical-based form of photography that provides people with a physical image forged in silver,” Kenzie says. She describes the tintype process as equal parts meditative and chaotic. “The darkroom is soothing; the variables of weather, chemistry and timing are sometimes not on my side,” she says. “As an impatient person, it forces me to slow down and surrender to imperfection.”
During the Civil War, tintypes were cherished because they allowed soldiers to leave a piece of themselves behind. Today, Kenzie encourages clients to arrive exactly as they are – not in costume, not playing a part, but representing their true selves in this moment. “In 100 years, what do you want your family to know about you?” she asks.
Her clients are generally already familiar with tintypes and are searching for someone who can create them to commemorate the things they love most: pets, family, instruments. “It’s a pretty niche art form,” she points out.
In Steamboat, she has found a community that cheers her on – one that embraces quirky art forms and historic craftwork as much as she does. It’s a place that understands that sometimes the oldest processes feel the most alive.
In many ways, her story loops back to that Victorian house in Yampa – the home bought on impulse, restored with love and filled with generations of memories. It’s the place that taught her to honor the past and ultimately led her to a craft that freezes time, one silver plate at a time.