diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1746e32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bin
+obj
diff --git a/Program.cs b/Program.cs
index 470e2d1..536f37a 100644
--- a/Program.cs
+++ b/Program.cs
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ namespace kot
             if (args.Length < 1)
             {
                 Console.WriteLine("missing input argument, pass \'help\' for more info");
-                System.Environment.Exit(0);
+                System.Environment.Exit(-1);
             }
             if (args[0] == "help")
             {
@@ -23,7 +23,17 @@ input argument /must/ be of types: {jpg, jpeg, bmp,}");
             string final = "";
             string[] scale = {".",",",":",";","+","*","?","%","S","#","@"};
             //Array.Reverse(scale);
-            var f = new Bitmap(path);
+            Bitmap f;
+            try
+            {
+                f = new Bitmap(path);
+            }
+            catch
+            {
+                Console.WriteLine("bad path");
+                System.Environment.Exit(-1);
+            }
+            f = new Bitmap(path);
             for (int i = 0; i < f.Height; i += 30)
             {
                 for (int z = 0; z < f.Width; z += 30)