import photos from iPhone and save them on Big Sur I have a large collection of family photos covering more than a century (scanned from my parents photo album, scanned slides, digital cameras and lately iPhone images of my grandchildren). I have developed my own cataloging scheme and viewer software which I use on multiple platforms.
Until recently I could import new photos from iPhone and save them to macOS, but with Catalina and Big Sur this does not seem possible.
I have searched, but apart from iCloud or Photo import (which I don't want to use) have been unable to find a method of importing, apart from AirDrop, which is OK for a few files.
I have found 2 Apple solutions which meets my needs, but no search came up with these methods.

NOTE - Both of these are documented in macOS Help

Import images from a camera into Preview on Mac
You can import photos from digital cameras or devices with cameras (such as iPhone) in Preview.
Connect your camera or device to your Mac, then make sure your Mac and the camera or device are turned on.
If the device is locked, use a passcode or Face ID to unlock it.
In the Preview app  on your Mac, choose File &gt; Import from [camera name].
If more than one camera is connected to your Mac, choose File &gt; Import from Camera &gt; [camera or device name].
A window appears with thumbnail images of all the photos on your camera.
Use the buttons at the bottom of the window to view the thumbnails in a list, to see larger thumbnails or to rotate images.
Drag the slider in the lower-right corner of the window to change the size of the thumbnails.
To import only some of the photos, select them, then click Import. To import all the photos on the camera, click Import All.
Choose where to save the images, then click Choose Destination.
The images are imported to that location and opened in one window in Preview.
Transfer images in Image Capture on Mac
You can use Image Capture to transfer images and video clips to your Mac from many cameras, iOS devices, iPadOS devices and other devices that have a camera. Once you transfer the items, you can choose to delete them from the device.
Connect your device to your computer using a cable, then turn the device on.
You may be asked to unlock your device with a passcode or to trust the device.
In the Image Capture app  on your Mac, select the device in the Devices or Shared list.
The Image Capture window showing pictures to be imported from an iPhone.
Use the tools in the Image Capture toolbar to change how the thumbnails are shown:
Increase or decrease the size of the thumbnails: Drag the slider.
View images as a grid of larger thumbnails: Click the Icon view button.
View images as a list: Click the List view button.
Rotate images: Click the Rotate button as many times as needed. To rotate the item to the right, press and hold the Option key, then click the button as many times as needed.
Select images, if you don’t want to import all of them.
Click the Import To pop-up menu at the bottom of the window, then choose where to save the images or to create a PDF or a web page that contains them.
To download images to an app, such as Photos, choose Other, then the app.
Click Download (if you selected images) or Download All.
By default, items you download remain on your device. If you prefer to remove them from your device, click the Action button  in the Image Capture toolbar, then either unselect “Keep originals” or select “Delete after import” (the option available depends on the type of device you connected).