[foxpaws]

Whether you plug in your camera, use a dock for a flash card, plug in your phone - whatever method you use to attach your photo acquiring device to the mac - don't let iPhoto be your default - and if it pops up - just turn it off - and change your preferences.

Go to the desktop - find the drive/camera/phone icon and then view the photos directly from the device, just click on the files and they will open in preview - actual size - and they won't download onto the Mac, they will remain on the device until you decide which ones to download.