Hi Big Ig,
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
If photos were deleted from iCloud Photo Library, you can try to recover them from the Recently Deleted album in Photos on a Mac or iCloud.com.
From Get help with your iCloud Photo Library:
When you delete a photo or video from your Photos app, it will also delete from your iCloud Photo Library and iCloud storage. You can recover your photos and videos from the Recently Deleted album for 30 days.
You can also check the following settings from iCloud Photo Library FAQ in case your MacBook Air or another device is in the process of syncing with iCloud Photo Library:
When you turn on iCloud Photo Library on your iOS device or Mac, your photos and videos will upload after you connect to the Internet with Wi-Fi and your battery is charged. You can see the status and pause the upload for one day when you follow these steps:
- On your iOS device, tap Settings > iCloud > Photos.
- On your Mac, click Photos > Preferences > iCloud.
Depending on your Internet connection speed, the time it takes for your photos and videos to appear on the Photos app on iCloud and all of your devices might vary. Make sure you turn on iCloud Photo Library on each device.
All the best.