Warren Gordon

Cape Breton University is delighted to honour and recognize a man who has been capturing and sharing Cape Breton’s culture, people and landscape through his photographic lens for over 50 years, Mr. Warren Gordon.

There is no name more synonymous with Cape Breton photography than Warren Gordon. His love of the photographic art started while he was a student at Xavier Junior College, where he says he spent more time in darkroom than in the classroom. That love would lead to a 50-year career that still continues to thrive.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from ST. FX in 1973, Warren went on to work for Canadian photographer Sherman Hines, making $100 per week. While the wage was meager, it allowed him to grow his art and become a member of the Professional Photographers of Canada, where he would go on to be awarded the degrees of Craftsman and Master of Photography Art.

He opened his own business in downtown Sydney in 1974, and the rest, as they say, is history. From that downtown studio and gallery Warren has provided professional photographic services to graduates, families, the business community, and wedding parties. Through his storied career Warren estimates he has photographed 150,000 university and high school graduates, more than 2,000 weddings, countless portraits and every type of project that came his way, including much work underground in the coal mines and at Sydney Steel.

He has captured the vibrant Cape Breton culture with original portraits of artists and performers and exciting images of entertainment and cultural gatherings. His affection for the Island can be experienced in the books and calendars he creates that document the beauty of the land and the spirit of the residents. Warren’s popular Cape Breton Island calendar has been published every year since 1987. In addition, he has self-published ten books of Cape Breton photographs.

In 2003, Warren was awarded the Master’s Bar for his Master of Photographic Arts (MPA) degree and captured the award for Top Pictorial Image from the Professional Photographers of Canada. Warren has also been awarded a Better Business Bureau and a Chamber of Commerce Awards for Ethics in Business, and is a laureate of the Cape Breton Business Hall of Fame.

Cape Breton University confers the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, on a man who has revealed the beauty of Cape Breton Island, its landscape and its people for the entire world to see, Mr. Warren Gordon.