Helen, thanks for that reference to Maddoc's work. I really like the style of the work and the photographs more than anything have soul. That is the missing ingredient in my work and it is something that seems to me to be more intuitive than learnt.
Maddoc - I really enjoyed looking through your photo streams! I rather new to this forum so I am still exploring. It is nice to know that I don't have to log onto flickr to access good Japanese street work - I can do it directly from here. Keep up that slendid work. I will be keenly following how your projects develop over the next months.
By the way, do you go out randomly shooting, or do you go out with a particular series/project in mind? I have been reading internet chatter about how some of the famous projects came about from Magnum photogs, and more often than not with their personal work (not commissioned by a magazine for instance) they start shooting singles in an area or locale and then see what ties all of the work together half way in. Then they gather momentum for a particular direction they want to take after careful editing from the 1st half of the photos.
Editing seems to be an art in itself and with professional guidance from say an experienced magazine editor, it can really transport a photographer to higher levels. Often these editors can find themes in the work and then tell the photographer to exploit that as they have the benefit of objectivity.