Ismail, an accomplished photographer whose pictures have appeared in National Geographic, is also an established wildlife artist, with paintings on permanent display at the Sioux Falls Zoo, Delbridge Museum (S.D.), and the International Wildlife Museum in Tucson, Arizona. Ismail has published The Essential Safari Companion, which he both wrote and illustrated with his own photographs. He is currently at work, with Alice Pianfetti, on their second book on East Africa.