original article: http://hostile-graphics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=154#p154
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this was stumbled upon by accident, now i use this technique for many other designs now. check it out.

1. first create a new image, i used 420x420.
2. fill (if not already filled) a new layer with white, and set the snap to on (view>snap) (IMAGE)
3. grab the circular marquee tool, click in the middle where the rulers join, hold shit+alt and drag outward to create a perfect circle. (IMAGE)
4. set your foreground color to #efefef, its a light gray color. fill the circle, do not deselect. (IMAGE)
5. now get the burn tool. lightliy graze the edges with a large round soft brush. i used 200px soft brush. (IMAGE)
6. do not deselect!. now go to the menu, Layer>Add Layer mask>reveal All. (IMAGE)
7. grab the gradient tool, set it to the sphere gradient. set forgraound to black, background to white. set mode to multiply, click and drag from the center of the sphere (holding shift for a straight line) (IMAGE)
8. add a default drop shadow to it, and burn the outside edges and youll end up with my final image.


this is a very nice technique good for trasparent headers, and side bars for designs.