diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c9b701
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+## [1.0.4](https://github.com/spoonconsulting/cordova-plugin-thumbnail/compare/1.0.3...1.0.4) (2024-10-01)
+* **Android:** Return more informative error if BitmapFactory.decodeFile() returns null
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 62eb6f6..0f4cee2 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
     "name": "@spoonconsulting/cordova-plugin-thumbnail",
-    "version": "1.0.3",
+    "version": "1.0.4",
     "lockfileVersion": 2,
     "requires": true,
     "packages": {
         "": {
             "name": "@spoonconsulting/cordova-plugin-thumbnail",
-            "version": "1.0.3",
+            "version": "1.0.4",
             "license": "Apache 2.0",
             "engines": {
                 "cordovaDependencies": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 2d5b9cd..7a531bf 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
     "name": "@spoonconsulting/cordova-plugin-thumbnail",
-    "version": "1.0.3",
+    "version": "1.0.4",
     "description": "Image thumbnail generator for Cordova project",
     "cordova": {
         "id": "@spoonconsulting/cordova-plugin-thumbnail",
diff --git a/plugin.xml b/plugin.xml
index f2f8368..6bee36e 100755
--- a/plugin.xml
+++ b/plugin.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<plugin xmlns="http://apache.org/cordova/ns/plugins/1.0" xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" id="@spoonconsulting/cordova-plugin-thumbnail" version="1.0.3">
+<plugin xmlns="http://apache.org/cordova/ns/plugins/1.0" xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" id="@spoonconsulting/cordova-plugin-thumbnail" version="1.0.4">
     <name>Thumbnail</name>
     <description>Cordova Thumbnail Plugin</description>
     <license>Apache 2.0</license>
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@
     <dependency id="cordova-plugin-file"/>
 
     <platform name="android">
+     <framework src="com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core:+" />
+     <framework src="com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:+" />
+
         <config-file target="res/xml/config.xml" parent="/*">
             <feature name="Thumbnails">
                 <param name="android-package" value="com.cordova.plugin.thumbnail.ThumbnailsCordovaPlugin"/>
diff --git a/src/android/Thumbnails.java b/src/android/Thumbnails.java
index 4ba04a1..29270f5 100755
--- a/src/android/Thumbnails.java
+++ b/src/android/Thumbnails.java
@@ -16,10 +16,12 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.io.OutputStream;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectWriter;
 
 public class Thumbnails {
 
-    public static void thumbnail(Options thumbnailOptions) throws IOException {
+    public static void thumbnail(Options thumbnailOptions) throws Exception {
         long begin = System.currentTimeMillis();
 
         Bitmap bitmap = thumbnailSmallImage(thumbnailOptions);
@@ -37,12 +39,18 @@ public static void thumbnail(Options thumbnailOptions) throws IOException {
         bitmap = null;
     }
 
-    private static Bitmap thumbnailSmallImage(Options thumbnailOptions) throws IOException {
+    private static Bitmap thumbnailSmallImage(Options thumbnailOptions) throws Exception {
 
         BitmapFactory.Options options = calculateImageSize(thumbnailOptions.sourcePath);
         options.inJustDecodeBounds = false;
         Bitmap bitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeFile(thumbnailOptions.sourcePath, options);
 
+        if (bitmap == null) {
+            ObjectWriter objectWriter = new ObjectMapper().writer().withDefaultPrettyPrinter();
+            String optionsJSON = objectWriter.writeValueAsString(options);
+            throw new Exception("Could not decode file into bitmap object { sourcePath: " + thumbnailOptions.sourcePath + " options: " + optionsJSON + " }");
+        }
+
         long begin = System.currentTimeMillis();
         int oWidth = bitmap.getWidth();
         int oHeight = bitmap.getHeight();
diff --git a/src/android/ThumbnailsCordovaPlugin.java b/src/android/ThumbnailsCordovaPlugin.java
index b848a0c..6bc0d2c 100755
--- a/src/android/ThumbnailsCordovaPlugin.java
+++ b/src/android/ThumbnailsCordovaPlugin.java
@@ -64,7 +64,8 @@ public void run() {
                         if(!sourceFile.exists()){
                             callbackContext.error("The image file does not exist at path: " + options.sourcePath );
                             throw new IOException(String.format("The image file does not exist"));
-                        } else if(!targetFile.exists()) {
+                        } 
+                        if(!targetFile.exists()) {
                             targetFile.getParentFile().mkdirs();
                             targetFile.createNewFile();
                         }