To be honest, I have not submitted a gallery in probably 6-7 years.
I believe Shemp still takes submits.
http://www.shemp.com/webmasters1.html
I have heard people still getting listed at The Hun.
I would think buying gallery spots is still some what of an option. Last time I looked years ago they were over priced unless you had something converting amazing.
I would recommend two alternative paths. First option I would consider is building a TGP in a niche where people still love seeing pictures ( Maybe non nude / solo girl / erotic ) and build custom galleries for it yourself. Then feed traffic to the galleries with your TGP by building trades. I would think most of the submitting game is dead and you could generate a lot of the same traffic on your own.
Second option I would consider is launching a high quality blog focusing on the same type of niche selection as the TGPs and try and grow in the SERPs by building it up over months and months.
I am always a fan of building your own internal traffic sources so those are the routes I would take. Maybe gallery submitting will do better than I think since so many small webmasters have left over the years.
Sorry, not much help, let us know how it goes.