I would also recommend Drupal for this, you could probably start by readin this:
http://drupal.org/node/144725
There is also a video here (a bit out of date, for drupal 5 and not for 6, but the mechanics should be the same):
http://blip.tv/file/256997
If I were you, I would start with drupal 6, and not drupal 5; this is what you would need
- Drupal 6 itself
- Views 2 module (D6 version contains the bonus pack allows you to sort, filter, and present your image pages)
- CCK module (content construction kit)
-- Image field module (an add on to CCK, this one hasn't come out yet, but it won't be more than a couple of weeks I bet)
- Imagecache module (creates a cache of different sizes of pictures)
+ There are a bunch of SEO modules that you could add later on
You could also use a gallery script such as gallery2, but you won't be able to customize it as easily (relatively speaking) as drupal. You can start populating your content as soon as you have a muckup worked out.
Good luck