CANTON resident Chad Schwartzenberger is a sports cinematographer, nature photographer and he runs Wild Wolf Coffee, his own coffee roasting business, inside Village Arts Factory. “My wife Julia is my rock,” he said. “My daughter Cali and son Jackson, we all have each other’s backs and we all help empower each other to do what we love.” Schwartzenberger grew up in Chelsea as a Michigan sports fan yet ironically graduated from Michigan State University in 2004 with a telecom degree. “MSU was great,” he said. “Working at SpartanVision led to Channel 6, then to Fox Sports Detroit and I’ve been a freelance sports cinematographer ever since.” If you’ve watched the Detroit Lions in the past 20 years, you’ve seen his work. Schwartzenberger has shot for ESPN, Ilitch Holdings, HBO’s “Hard Knocks”, Uncommon Heights, NFL Films (the league’s official film and TV production company), the Netflix docuseries “Receiver”, featuring Amon-Ra St. Brown, and more. “I’m the guy with the camera on the field shooting ground highlights,” he said. “I’m a director of photography (DP). I do sync sound camera, wire camera, drone, Steadicam. I shoot for all professional sports, mainly NFL.” He has 24 Michigan Emmy awards, one national Emmy, and has been lucky enough to shoot Super Bowl games. “I shoot with Arri Amira cameras, DJI Ronin 4D gimbal, DJI Mavic 3 pro drone cams,” he said. “I shoot tight and take chances. To me, great coverage is like cinematic storytelling, it moves you.” Schwartzenberger also works with Plymouth native Alex Wright on filming DCFC soccer games. “We met when Alex was a freelance producer at Fox Sports Detroit,” he said. “Now I help film the DCFC games for him. Alex is co-owner of DCFC.” Schwartzenberger gives back through mentoring younger, aspiring cinematographers. “I tell them get uncomfortable, get out there and meet people,” he said. “Your biggest leads almost always come from personal referrals. And study the greats, people like Donnie Marx, one of the best NFL cinematographers ever.” Schwartzy Photos is Schwartzenberger’s still photo business. “I’m a nature guy – I love hiking and hunting,” he said. “The goal with nature photos, or any great photo, is to tell a story with one frame.” You can see Schwartzenberger’s work hanging on the wall of Wild Wolf Coffee, his coffee roastery inside Village Arts Factory in Cherry Hill Village. “I’ve always loved sports and coffee,” he said. “Wild Wolf is now a licensed commercial kitchen. I sell bags of roasted coffee, both beans and ground. My goal is to be a local roaster option for residents, stores and restaurants.” Wild Wolf’s Colombian single origin medium roast and the Indonesian Blue Moon are top sellers. “You can purchase it via our website or get it at the Village Grocery and more stores soon,” he said. “Delicious.” Most of all, Schwartzenberger loves watching his kids play sports. “Our daughter Cali is a senior at Salem – she’ll be playing soccer for Saginaw Valley State next year,” he said. “And our son Jackson will start playing football for Salem next year. Exciting!” The Schwartzenbergers love Canton. “Great schools and a diverse community strategically located between Detroit-Ann Arbor-DTW Airport,” he said. “Plus, there’s Taco Factory, Szechuan, Maverick’s, First Watch, and Compari’s in DTP, we love it all.”