if I can use your comment as inspiration!

Yes! Absolutely! Can't wait to read the story. (Gonna check out right now if you already posted it to Hive as well.)

It kind of "pulls you away" from the moment

This works for me in another way too. In a good way, from my perspective. It's sometimes so nice to put a camera in between me and the world because that gives me the feeling that at that moment I'm not completely part of the world, I'm just an observer and very few people dare to interact with me when I'm photographing. It's like a shield. Not an invisibility cloak though, which I'd prefer most. Mostly people just become so aware of themselves when they see someone photographing them or the streets they walk on.

Can't help being philosophical. I think it's because of your influence. :)