In reply to obi-wan nick b:
Not sure exactly what you need to achieve overall, but could Dropbox work?
It will let you upload large files into folders or into custom display albums for pictures. These hold the original files but will also allow you to view them via thumbnails and a gallery function.
It doesn't allow password protected sharing, but does allow you to share a link which includes a token so that it can only be accessed by those who are sent the link directly.
I've used it for exactly this function recently.