How can I access old Cloud pictures from 2012 and prior please?

The iCloud photo service was only introduced with iOS 8.1 in the fall of 2014, so they couldn’t possibly be in iCloud from 2012 or 2013. iCloud itself didn’t exist prior to the fall of 2011.

So you couldn’t have had photos in iCloud from those years. That wasn’t possible unless you sync”d old photos from a computer when iCloud photo did come out. And unless you’ve deleted them since, they should be there still.

Hello ogosse,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. We understand you'd like to access photos from your iCloud account. There are a few ways to access photos from iCloud.

Access and view iCloud Photos on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

You can also log in to your iCloud account from a computer web browser here: iCloud.

Have a good day.