
Victoria Ziglar used to draw wolves as a child. Now, she professionally films and photographs them.
I (Katie) had the opportunity to sit down with long-time colleague and friend, Victoria, Creative Director of Bright Coral Creative (BCC). We chatted about her personal and professional stories and what led her to start BCC, whose mission is to help the people who are helping the planet by creating visuals that drive their mission forward. Her work has been featured in National Geographic Kids, PBS Nature/BBC Earth, and in many local media outlets like Explore St. Louis and Living St. Louis. She travels the world to capture photos and videos of wildlife and wild places, and she’s a musician!
Victoria’s childhood centered on animals. She wrote about and illustrated wolves, foxes, cats, frogs and more. As a teenager, she got her first digital camera that had a zoom. out. lens. She scoured her neighborhood for stray cats and critters to photograph.
Her high school years were full of more creativity, and she fell in love with recording video. She created comedy videos with friends and for class, eventually envisioning herself as a future Veronica from Anchorman.
At Webster University, Victoria majored in video production and slowly moved away from her anchorwoman dreams, finding a clash of media ethics, her spirituality, and overall values. She leaned towards the creative and impact-driven storytelling of video, which would allow her to work with topics she was passionate about.
Victoria loved her Production House class at Webster where she got to work with real clients, like the Shaw Neighborhood and an arts nonprofit. She said she eventually modeled her business from that class. But nothing compared to her Experimental Video Class… “And that’s when the mermaiding started,” Victoria laughed. For a film, she crafted a swimmable mermaid tail and started filming underwater, even sticking her camera in fish tanks to overlay shots of fish and corals. “I had no idea how fun it would be to swim in a mermaid tail! I got hooked and totally became a part-time mermaid,” she said. “I’m sure it was strange to see a mermaid in the swimming pool, but I was okay with that.”
In her early career, Victoria did film production assistant work and produced videos for nonprofits, trained community members to produce video content with PBS (Nine Network), and worked with Coolfire Originals on reality tv sets. She tried television, feature film, nonprofit, and marketing work, but nothing felt completely right. That’s when she realized that by leveraging the experience and creative work she’d done for other companies, she could springboard the founding of her own company.
Check out Victoria’s photography work below:














Victoria didn’t know what was possible, especially the potential to blend her love of animals and video. Maybe it was a lack of representation in the still heavily male-dominated industry, or perhaps not being able to imagine affording the kind of camera equipment needed to film wildlife, but once she produced a few short videos for conservation organizations like the Endangered Wolf Center (EWC) and the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center, a lightbulb went off and almost immediately, and Bright Coral Creative was begun.
She said this about Missouri wildlife: “It’s odd. People don’t know it’s a hub [here in St. Louis]. There are a lot of amazing organizations… and they impact a lot of other places through their conservation work.”
“Filming wildlife is so challenging,” Victoria said. “It’s not formulaic like a wedding.” Victoria will sit for two to three hours waiting for anything: an appearance, a howl, etc. One day she’s filming a vet exam inside of a wolf den, the next she’s at an airport watching endangered wolves be flown off to their native environments. “You’re in the elements. You have no idea what an animal’s going to do. Especially birds. Birds are jerks.” We laughed. Patience and passion is key.
Of course, Victoria and I got nerdy about wolves and I learned a LOT. Did you know, the American Red Wolf is no longer found here in Missouri? The only wild population left is in North Carolina and there are less than 30 in and around a small wildlife refuge. Places like the Endangered Wolf Center breed and release some wolves back into the wild. The Mexican wolf is another similar species that the EWC breeds and sends back to the wild. Specifically, a pup was sent to be fostered in the wild to another wolf mom who recently gave birth. “The conservationists basically say, ‘Here, hope you can’t count!’ and wolves are so nurturing that it works!” Victoria said. She also told me more about wolf semen banking and artificial insemination to continue preserving endangered species.

Victoria has also worked with the World Bird Sanctuary (WBS) here in Missouri, helping tell the incredible story of Murphy the eagle and his fostered baby eaglet. She also filmed the rare-in-Missouri golden eagle that landed in the WBS Raptor Hospital.
“It’s such an honor to be in the presence of such beautiful creatures and to get to know the people making a difference for wildlife.”
Victoria says her company, Bright Coral Creative, is set apart from other filmmakers who only want cool shots. She uses a holistic approach to film and photograph her wildlife and focuses on the incredible people doing this important work. She does not bait animals to get the “money shot” or give up easily. She waits, she respects, she is ethical. Her photos and videos are used to fundraise, increase awareness, educate, and tell conservation stories. If a potential or existing client is not able to achieve a goal because of money, Victoria will help fundraise for it. She sees her strategy as a “holistic, digital ecosystem,” helping animals and people. She can provide all of the pieces of the puzzle, from print to digital to events to film showings, to support the mission. And she’s passionate about collaborating with other like-minded creatives, which is how we met.
I like to finish my interviews with two questions. See Victoria’s answers below:
- Favorite local businesses/nonprofits/entrepreneurs?
- There are so many!
- I love to sit in Maypop Cafe’s greenhouse with a matcha latte, planner, and a journal. I love thrifting and DIYing projects, so places like Get Your Picks on 66 are fun to peruse. Being a dog mom, I love that STL has dog-friendly places like Zoomies Cafe and BarK.
- Favorite St. Louis neighborhoods?
- I lived in South City for years, so Lindenwood Park, Forest Park, and Tower Grove Park will always feel like home.
- And I always recommend visitors and city residents to venture a bit out of the city to enjoy what I call our “wildlife trifecta.” Drive through Lone Elk Park, stroll through World Bird Sanctuary, and schedule a tour at the Endangered Wolf Center. Victoria says, “I feel like I’ve created a mini-Yellowstone for myself in Missouri. It’s really cool that you can do that here and spend a day appreciating nature, and even rare and endangered species.”
PLEASE follow Victoria and Bright Coral Creative at @brightcoralcreative and check out more videos and content by Victoria at BrightCoralCreative.com!