Ismawan was born in Cottesloe, Australia, in 1972, the first of three sons. Back to Indonesia at his early age, he spent his childhood in Malang, a small town in East Java province, Indonesia, until his high school time. That was when he became interested in photography and started using his father’s pocket camera to take pictures. He moved and finished his college in Surabaya, majoring in computer engineering, before starting to move from one assignment to another in various companies and cities in Indonesia. By then he also started to travel around Indonesia and perpetuated the beauty of places in Indonesia using his photography skill. Between those assignments and trips, he still managed to complete his MBA degree at ITB Bandung. Beside photography as his greatest passion and hobby, Ismawan also loves doing golf, tennis, trekking and diving, and always eager to try out any other outdoor activities.