The Capture Photography Festival returns for its third year this April, continuing its celebration of lens-based art by hosting a series of exhibitions, public art installations, and events throughout Metro Vancouver.

In addition to its list of upwards of 75 free exhibitions, Capture's impressive public art installations—a mix of returning and new projects—are sure to help the festival meet its mandate of increasing public awareness of the cultural importance of photography. 

The first, by Stephen Waddell, was created in collaboration with the Burrard Arts Foundation. Waddell's site-specific work has been made to adhere to the facade of the B.C. Binning and Ned Pratt-designed B.C. Hydro Dal Grauer Substation on Burrard Street.

Waddell's photograph draws on the history of the substation and its urban setting, while simultaneously pointing a finger at modern design. As in previous years, this work won't be revealed until the last minute.

The Capture Canada Line Project will see nine separate exhibition spaces showcasing photo-based works on the exteriors of Canada Line Stations. The theme of this year's project is Lying Stills: constructing truth with photography. 

Through this theme artists investigate how photographers create and manipulate narrative. Artists include Lucien Durey, David Ellingsen, Jerome Havre, Adad Hannah, and more.

These pieces intend to evoke questions of a photograph's authenticity, and to draw attention to the many choices photographers make when creating an image. Presentation House Gallery, Contemporary Art Gallery, Western Front, an SFU directed studies class, and Capture itself have made curatorial contributions to this project.

The third public installaftion, a series of photographs taken by Jim Breukelman, will showcase the '30s and '40s-built bungalows of Vancouver. Breukelman captured the white picket fences and perfectly manicured lawns in the 1980s, as they began to disappear due to citywide redevelopment. The series, called Hot Properties, will be displayed on 10 billboards around the city. 

Capture's final large-scale installation, Viewpoint, will be a two-part project that reimagines the use of shipping containers in Lonsdale Quay. For Burrard Inlet Big Camera, artists Erin Siddall and Sean Arden will construct a camera obscura that viewers can access via a set of stairs.

Beneath it, a second container will be used as an exhibition space. Curated by Cate Rimmer, the work in the space will feature Ryan McKenna's film, Vision in 1792. Presented through the eyes of a Coast Salish shaman, it speaks to the history of Vancouver's port, Burrard Inlet, and the exploration of George Vancouver.

The festival's launch event will take place at the Roundhouse Community Centre on April 1. Presented in partnership with Presentation House Gallery, the launch exhibition will spotlight emerging local artists who have been shortlisted for the gallery's inaugural Phillip B. Lind Emerging Artist Commission. The winner will be announced at the launch, but the exhibition will run until April 9th. 

Capture will also present a speaker series at Inform Interiors that will explore themes that pertain to contemporary issues in photography. 

The festival runs from April 1 to 28. Programming will be released at www.capturephotofest.com in early March.