In an age when we can endlessly swipe through images on our phones, the simple act of receiving a printed photo becomes thrilling. “The first people I surprised with a picture, it was magical” recalls Dutch photographer and filmmaker The Guy with the Printer.

At a difficult point in his life, he was seeking a new creative project for his photography and filmmaking when he chanced upon a video of a street photographer who showed his images to the people in them. “The reaction of the people seeing their photographs got me quite emotional. But in the videos, you didn’t hear any of the conversation, and the images were only shown to people on phones.”

That was when The Guy had the idea of starting a similar project, this time with the intention of printing the images and handing them to his subjects, while he filmed the encounter with a small camera.

When he handed the first image he took to the person, he remembers “It was like an explosion of love. I came from a difficult time, when I was quite depressed, and then I had this opportunity to make people happy and smile with something I was doing for them. It was something very small - it is only a picture, but it is also the attention you have for people when you surprise them. It gives me a great feeling.”

The Guy uses Dutch cities, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam, for his project, finding it much easier to blend in as just another photographer than in a small town or village. “I'm always looking for someone to photograph where I have a feeling that there is a bigger story behind the moment. You see a lot of people on the streets, but sometimes you see someone who stands out - That's what I'm searching for.”

Recently, The Guy has been using the Sony RX1R III with its 61-megapixel resolution and 35mm f/2 lens to capture his street photographs. “When I first had the camera in my hands, I thought ‘This is beautiful’. I really love the body as it is so compact and it fits easily in a bag or pocket. Plus it has a vintage style. It’s such a nice camera to use on the street, but what I really loved about the RX1R III is the 35mm f/2 lens for portraits. The f/2 aperture creates a beautiful shallow depth of field, ideal for portraits. I loved the camera from the first time I used it.”

When The Guy works, he usually brings his Sony Alpha 7 III and FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens, capturing candid moments and portraits. “With the RX1R III and the 35mm focal length lens, I approach people more and ask to take their photograph. With the 61-million-pixel resolution, I have the flexibility to shoot wide and capture the scene, or to crop in when editing. I have more than enough resolution to make my prints.”

Despite the size of the Sony RX1R III, it has all the latest Sony technologies, including Human Pose Estimation Technology and Real Time Tracking, both of which enable the camera to focus quickly and accurately on the subjects in The Guy’s photos, leaving him to concentrate on the framing. “Because it's very fast, I don't have to think about the focus anymore. I have to shoot very quickly, so for me the RX1R III is perfect for these kinds of photos.”

Working quickly on the street, The Guy uses an SD card reader to copy the images to his phone, where he can quickly edit and adjust their colour and contrast. Then he uses a Bluetooth printer to print the image from his phone before handing it to the person he has photographed.

“Everybody has thousands of images on their phones, but we never see them all. Giving someone a print is something physical, something they can take back home with them to show to family or friends. I give them a memory in their hands. I think that is the biggest difference between showing them a photo on the back of a camera or on a phone screen. You can see from people's reaction how much it means to them.”

One of the more memorable moments came when The Guy photographed a homeless man, politely asking him if he would mind his portrait being taken. “The photo was not a surprise, as I had asked, but I came back with the printed picture. He was in shock. He said to me, ‘I’m so happy, you have given light to my life today.’ As I walked off, I looked over my shoulder, and he was still looking at the photograph. It made me emotional because I realised, in that moment, the impact I could have on people. It was a very beautiful moment.”