Panama City- A Panama City scuba diver caught a rare sight on tape, and it was his first time diving with a camera. People who have been scuba diving for decades haven't seen what James Russell saw Friday. Russell was diving on stage two when he captured this footage of a 20 foot whale shark.

The whale shark wasn't bothered by Russell at all. It swam right past the stunned diver. "It was like a submarine. It was huge! It was blue and spotted. It was really calm. It checked us out. It was exhilarating," said Russell.

Where Russell was diving, Stage 2, is an old Navy platform that was sunk to create an artificial reef. It's about a mile and a half from shore. Whale sharks are typically found in warmer water, like the Caribbean. But they'll occasionally stray into the northern gulf during the mid-to-late summer when the water is the warmest.