Photography holds power.

Just ask Lynn Shupp, who was recently bestowed with a prestigious photography contest award that included having her work published in a national book, "The Exposure Award, The Interiors Collection."Shupp, who owns Photography by Lynn at 1300 Fireline Road in Palmerton, was recognized for a photo that depicts the ruins of the former New Jersey Zinc Company's west plant that she submitted as part of a contest through See.Me."As a professional photographer, I was elated to find out one of my treasured New Jersey Zinc images I created was going to be in the Louvre in Paris, France, for all to see on a digital display," Shupp said. "Then to find out it was also chosen to be published in this book with images from all over the globe was incredible."Shupp said the photo is specifically from the change house on the former NJZC's west plant, and shows a line of mossy green lockers that are highlighted with rust and are ajar. A light-colored bench with a yellow hard hat is sitting next to the lockers, while the paint peeling wall and radiator are in the back of the shot, she said."I named it 'Workday Done Forever' because I think of that man who the hard hat belonged to getting done with his shift and setting it down for the last time because the plant was closing," she said. "Thanks to everyone who voted and commented on my images because they helped me get seen by the judges."Shupp said her pictures of the NJZC west plant are "near and dear to my heart.""The story is the important thing for me," she said. "Both of my grandfathers had worked there, and my dad worked there."Shupp added, "A good photograph should make you pause and think. A little piece of Palmerton history that has been torn down, will forever be throughout the world and that just makes me smile."It's such a big part of Palmerton and who we are and what we are," she said. "That's why I love photography; I can take a moment in time and capture it."Shupp said, "I believe everyone and everything has a story to tell."I chose photography as my medium because I can take one moment in time and freeze it for forever," she said. "At any given time someone can go back to the images I created and remind themselves of that moment, thoughts they were thinking, things that were said, and memories that flash back, by having a visual reminder."Shupp has owned her business since 1997."Places or scenes, even if you've never been there, can cause you to feel or think about what's going on in the photo," she said. "That's why my love of photography is my passion and I feel it is such a powerful tool."A 1990 graduate of Palmerton Area High School, Shupp attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia."Going to art school for photography and having the wonderful teachers I did at the Art Institute of Philadelphia helped me find my inner voice," she said. "Years of experience and an understanding of lighting and composition helps develops a shot and putting in how you feel makes the piece real."Shupp does portraiture, events and commercial work, as well as on location. In addition, Shupp also sells her art work locally."Good photography is so much more than pushing a button or buying an expensive camera," she said. "It's about learning the rules, and then once you've spent a lot of time getting them right, being able to break them, and that is when you find your style to tell the story."