iCloud mushes my photos into one place and I want them in another.
My iPhone has more than 50GB unused storage but, apple wants me to store my photos in their clunky, irrelevant iCloud.
Is there a way to create photo albums outside iCloud?
I also have a MacBook Air with plenty of storage but all my photos have to pass through the icloud filter.
MacBook
There is no requirement to use iCloud Photos and you can create photo albums whether or not you choose to use iCloud Photos. To turn it off see the instructions in: Get help with iCloud Photos - Apple Support
You can transfer photos from your iPhone to your MacBook Air without using iCloud --see the "Import to your Mac" section of Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
There is no requirement to use iCloud Photos and you can create photo albums whether or not you choose to use iCloud Photos. To turn it off see the instructions in: Get help with iCloud Photos - Apple Support
You can transfer photos from your iPhone to your MacBook Air without using iCloud --see the "Import to your Mac" section of Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
storing photos on iPhone and MacBook independent of icloud
