Grab your popcorn, fellas; the fight is about to start!
Malaysian photographer Keow Wee Loong has hit back at Polish photographer Arkadiusz Podniesiński for criticising his actions.
In an interview with photography news site Peta Pixel, the 28-year-old denied that he fabricated his story, as claimed by Podniesiński on his website.
On Monday, Podniesiński posted a note titled ‘Attention Seeking Kid – Keow Wee Loong‘ on his website, accusing Keow of lying about his photos in search of fame.
“Podniesiński colour[ed] the red zone into white [on his map], and has been spreading it ever since.
“It is not white as I told countless press, I walked from Tamioka to Namie across four towns,” Keow reportedly told Peta Pixel.
Keow also posted a photo showing several area maps alongside his defense:
Keow told the website that Podniesiński texted him and asked him the exact locations he had taken the photos from.
“He said that he was uncertain where all photos were taken, and I told him.
“The next day he came out with this article,” he was quoted as saying.
Keow added that the last couple of days, several international media such as TIME and CNN reportedly got in touch with him after Podniesiński’s note was published.
“I have a duty to defend myself. Even though I went in without a permit, that does not mean someone with a valid permit is right,” he was quoted as saying.
On Tuesday, Keow also posted a long and thorough note on his Facebook page to further defend himself from accusations:
In the Facebook post, Keow said that he does not blame Podniesiński for criticising him.
“I do understand why you are doing this and I wanna say I dont hate you for it,” he wrote.
