Two different videographers caught footage of whales doing their whale thing off the coast of Northern California this weekend. In one case, a slickly professional TV news team was the first, ever, to get live-broadcast footage of a blue whale. In the second, a regular joe like you or me splashing around in the ocean had a humpback whale appear "within a paddle's length of her" craft.

Paddleboarder Viviana Guzman was in the ocean near Half Moon Bay this weekend, when a humpback crossed right in front of her. She caught part of the encounter on video, telling CBS5 that that "humpbacks, dolphins and seals have been hanging out lately near Miramar Beach."

Further down the coast, a live BBC broadcast from Monterey was interrupted in majestic fashion, when a blue whale appeared on the scene.

"This is one of the most extraordinary things I've ever seen," BBC wildlife guy Steve Backshall says as he breaks from an interview with whale expert Doris Welch to behold the surfacing beast.

According to Mashable, Sunday's event was "the first time a blue whale sighting has been broadcast live on television."

"This is something that every single person out there should look at and take notice of," Backshall says.

"If we protect places, [whales] will come back, and they will come back in dramatic style."